Top sports officials in the country are expected to meet next week to discuss the resumption of training for athletes seeing action in three important international tournaments in 2022.
Officials of the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) will meet with counterparts from Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) and various national sports associations (NSA) to tackle the SEA Games, Asian Games and the Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games or AIMAG.
The meeting will be presided by SEA Games Chef de Mission Ramon Fernandez, a commissioner in the PSC.
“In our meeting, Commissioner Fernandez wants to meet with the POC and the NSAs and discuss what would be the approach to prepare our athletes for the SEA Games,” said PSC Chief of Staff and national training director Marc Velasco when contacted Wednesday, August 18 by Manila Bulletin.
“Definitely training will resume. We just have to work on the framework of the resumption of training this year. We have to plan everything since there is no word yet on when the SEA Games will start.”
Vietnam is the SEA Games host for this year in Hanoi, but due to the rising case of COVID-19 there, organizers opted to postpone the biennial meet and stage it early next year.
There is no decision yet from the SEA Games Federation on the exact date for the event. The country is the reigning overall champion following a successful campaign in 2019 here.
Velasco said there is excitement from the athletes and the NSA after the best ever stint of the Philippines in the Tokyo Olympics where it finally won the gold medal courtesy of weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz, and added two silvers and a bronze from boxers Nesthy Petecio, Carlo Paalam and Eumir Marcial.
“Actually we already have athletes that started training like kickboxing in Baguio. But because of the restrictions and lockdowns, and the Vietnam decision, we have to wait before we make plans to resume,” he said.
Velasco said that being able to see the Tokyo Olympics gave the PSC an opportunity to improve the guidelines for athletes and coaches when training is allowed – either in Metro Manila or in provinces.
“Now that we saw the template of the Tokyo Olympics, it would not be too difficult to conduct training for our athletes. Unlike last year, nangangapa tayo, now we can improve our guidelines and protocols,” said Velasco.