Around the University TownThe Starting BlokePrioritizing selected sports; is it legal?

Prioritizing selected sports; is it legal?

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The sports media is abuzz with the news that the Philippine Sports Commission and the Philippine Olympic Committee, upon instruction of President Aquino, will soon submit a list of 10 priority sports “where the Philippines could make an international impact in world championships and the Olympics.” PSC Chair Richie Garcia said that “…we could focus on 10 (priority sports) where we will try to fast-track the development of champion athletes and build for the future.”

This instruction of the President and the “new” PSC mission articulated by Chairman Garcia will be difficult to carry out because it runs counter to basic principles of sports development–and will earn the displeasure of those adherents of sports which are not included in the priority list. The move could also be viewed as illegal as it could be interpreted as a form of government interference, a no no, as far the International Olympic Committee is concerned.

The United Nations Millennium Development Goals Task Force on Sports had advised Member Countries to consider the purpose for promoting sports: “…not for the creation of new sporting champions, and the development of sports, but rather, the use of sports in broader development for health, education, social development and peace-building activities.”

The role of the PSC is the promotion and development of grassroots sports and that of the POC and National Sports Associations (NSAs) is to ensure successful participation in international sports. The PSC is the government arm for mass-based public sports and the POC-NSAs for the privately-controlled international sports. The Charter of International Olympic Committee specifically mandates that international sports is governed by International Law, precisely to prevent government interference in the conduct of Olympic and IOC-sanctioned sporting events.

Garcia stated that: “It’s time for the PSC to assume accountability…We’ve given NSAs (National Sports Associations) the support to develop champion athletes but if things don’t go right, we get blamed even if we’re not actually in the frontline. Since we feel the buck stops with the PSC, we might as well be in the frontline. We’re ready to take a direct hand in the development of sports.”

Garcia’s admission of government taking over and assuming the functions and accountability of what rightly that of private organizations, the POC and the NSAs, is, to my mind, a violation of the IOC Charter–and at the risk of neglecting the government’s responsibility to promote grassroots sports and physical fitness–a function clearly defined in the PSC Charter (RA 6847), and Executive Orders Nos. 63 and 64, issued during the presidency of Fidel Ramos.

So, it is possible for some bright-eyed lawyers (in the mold of Senator Rene Saguisag, perhaps?) to secure a TRO on behalf of the NSAs who are not in the priority list, the DepEd whose program of physical education and school sports is prescribed under the Philippine Constitution, as well as the DILG which is mandated to lead the program of “Sports For All” prescribed in EO No. 63, are at risk of not getting adequate support from the PSC resulting from its plan to prioritized 10 sports.

In the light of this claim and given the time-honored principle that contrary to Garcia’s belief, you cannot “fast track the development of champion athletes” because experts say that it takes a minimum of 10-15 years to develop and train a world-class athlete, what can the PSC consider doing?

I recommend three strategies. First, is to create a “cultures of active participation” among children and the youth through a good physical education and school sports program. Second, establish a training institution for sports teachers, coaches, and sports science practitioners, and third, promote a wellness lifestyle among the citizenry.

We must start with the children and youth. Filipino young people are victims of obesity, a precursor to life style diseases such as cancer, diabetes and heart ailments due to unhealthy eating and sedentary living where social interaction and networking is carried out through computers, iPads and iPhones instead of through direct socialization in the medium of play, games, sports and recreational activities. Opportunities for participation in socially wholesome physical activity by young people provided in PE classes and club sports should be a priority concern of government. Then, we will have a wider base from which we can select those who will undergo the long training to become world-class athletes.

The PSC after conducting the regional and national Batang Pinoy games “discovered” a long time fact that there is no grassroots technical manpower to overseer the development of young sports participants in the communities. The reason for this is the absence of an institution to undertake the professional training of the specialized personnel that will man grassroots sports. Several attempts of establishing this, such as the Philsports, inaugurated during the tenure of former PSC chairmen Philip Juico and William Ramirez, never reached the stage of functionality. Without an entity to handle professional training of sports practitioners, the country will never progress beyond its current status of mediocrity.

Finally, the government should encourage and provide opportunities for the citizenry to participate in physical activities and to adopt a wellness lifestyle. Health and wellness of the people is a greater priority than winning the country’s first Olympic gold medal.

Perhaps, we can start with the President setting an example by quitting smoking, and instead of standing still shooting at stationary targets for recreation, take up hunting ducks in the mountains of Tanay like that grand sportsman and first PBA commissioner, Leo Prieto.

The government could take advantage of the current running boom and provide support for marathon running. It could be in the marathon that finally, the much-desired Olympic gold medal will be won. We can beat the Kenyans if we aspire to excel. Instead of creating a separate category for Kenyans in the various marathons that are locally staged as planned by race organizers, we should welcome racing against them. A separate category for Kenyans is another admission and an excuse for the mediocrity that is spawned by inutile NSAs who are now being redeemed by a move of the PSC to do what they had constantly failed to deliver. Enough is enough, gentlemen and ladies of the POC and NSAs. Don’t put the PSC and the government in a legal bind.

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