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Basketball
Chooks-to-Go 3x3’s contact tracing app is the first in the country for sporting use
Chooks-to-Go 3x3’s contact tracing app is the first in the country for sporting use
By Kerry Tinga
And there are talks that the app will be used as a unified platform for other sports leagues in the country
The NBA matches are underway at the Orlando Bubble, but Filipinos are still longing to see their local leagues on their screens again. Luckily, we might not have to wait much longer; with Chooks-to-Go 3x3 League set to return to the courts this October.
Nowadays, it is impossible to think of the new normal of sports leagues and competitions without talking about a bubble. But it is more than just keeping players and essential staff in an isolation zone.
Commissioner Eric Altamirano has incorporated a high-tech, app-based contact tracing system into the bubble. This landmark collaboration with Global Electric Transport (GET) Philippines is the first of its kind in the country: a contact-tracing app used specifically for sporting use.
How does it work?
The system connects players, coaches, and essential staff through a free, downloadable mobile app that contains their health status and medical identifiers essential for contact tracing.
Whenever anybody enters an approved location, a QR code is generated on their app, which they have to scan at the location to log in their entry and exit. From the training centers, they enter to the transport they use, records are kept within a database that can be cross-referenced in case of infection.
Players are also required to take periodic check-in selfies to show that they have their phones with them, and so monitors can check everything is in order.
The system was originally designed as a transport ticketing system for GET’s electric, zero-emission minibusses. Commissioner Eric worked with GET to adapt the real-time information transferring and tracking system for Chooks 3x3, and acts as the chief adviser on GET’s adaptation for sports purposes.
What next?
Along with the contact-tracing app, players go through an anti-gen test before entering the court. After each team’s training session, the entire venue and all materials that were used are disinfected.
The Chooks 3x3 system has already received praise from Commissioner of Higher Education (CHED) chairman Popoy De Vera, who says, “Nakita ko yung ginawa nila Eric Altamirano sa Chooks 3x3 sa UP. Ang ganda. Dapat ipakita sa mga amateurs (I saw what Eric Altamirano is doing at Chooks 3x3 at UP. It is so good. That is what amateurs should be looking at).”
There are talks underway for the app to be used as a unified platform for other sports leagues in the country, as well as a ticketing system for future attendees of sporting events for the new normal.
Currently, Chooks 3x3 is scheduled to open on Oct. 2 at the Inspire Academy in Calamba, Laguna. This, however, still depends on approval from the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF).