In two weeks, Negrenses will see action in the sporting world when the Philippine Olympic Committee-Philippine Sports Commission National Games unfolds from May 27 to June 2.
This event will be hosted by Dumaguete City, Negros Oriental and Laguna, as the different sporting events will be played in these areas. Dumaguete City and Negros Oriental will be the venue for 25 events. These events are archery, arnis, athletics, badminton, basketball (men), billiards, chess, dance sports, diving, football (men), futsal, judo, karatedo, lawn tennis, pencak silat, sepak takraw, softball, swimming, table tennis, triathlon, indoor volleyball, beach volleyball, weightlifting, wrestling and wushu.
Laguna, on the other hand, will host canoeing, kayaking, dragonboat, rugby, taekwondo, motorcycle sports, bowling, baseball, boxing, soft tennis, gymnastics, fencing, shooting and wall climbing.
The POC-PSC National Games will be held for the purpose of discovering outstanding athletes who would comprise various national teams for the Southeast Asian Games, the Asian Games the Olympics and other sports competitions.
Are we ready?
Negros Oriental has its share of athletes who are playing or have played for national teams in archery, football, water sports and beach volleyball. It may be tempting for our sports officials to pat themselves on the back, but the reality is that there are still many athletes who have yet to be discovered in other sporting events because we do not have the proper program to identify and select these athletes.
Last week, a rehashed news story about the formation of a sports confederation in Negros Oriental was again released to the media. This may be a good start but any organization can only succeed if it has a working program to develop sports.
For a sports confederation to work, each organization represented there has to be strong and dynamic. They each have to have a progressive program to develop their players. When we achieve that, we will surely be able to provide more athletes for the national pool.
