Inaugural SEA Plus YG primed to feature 23 sports in four cluster venues
At A Glance
- The Philippine Olympic Committee formally kicked off preparations for the inaugural Southeast Asian Plus Youth Games by proposing 23 sports to be staged across four venue clusters during its first executive council meeting on Saturday, July 11, at Solaire Resort and Casino in Parañaque City.
The Philippine Olympic Committee formally kicked off preparations for the inaugural Southeast Asian Plus Youth Games by proposing 23 sports to be staged across four venue clusters during its first executive council meeting on Saturday, July 11, at Solaire Resort and Casino in Parañaque City.
POC president Abraham "Bambol" Tolentino presided over the meeting attended by representatives from the National Olympic Committees of ASEAN member nations, along with delegates from some of the 17 invited countries outside the region.
Among the countries outside the Southeast Asian region present in the meeting are Bhutan, Nepal, Chinese Taipei, Bahrain, Qatar, Sri Lanka, Maldives, and Saudi Arabia – all of them expressing support for the games penciled in December 2027.
Aiming to set the bar high for the hosting of the very first SEA Plus YG, local organizing committee CEO and president Ramon ‘Tats’ Suzara is looking at nothing but a successful staging at par with the international standards.
“We're here to make sure we deliver the games to international standards. I think with 23 sports and four clusters, I think we will be able to deliver at par with the international standards of the different sports,” said Suzara after the meeting.
The sports and number of events are still subject for changes although the organizing committee is expecting it to be finalized in the next two months
The SEA Plus YG will be utilizing Philippine Sports Commission facilities, namely the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex in Manila and PhilSports Arena in Pasig City, as two of the four venue clusters — the others being Tagaytay City and Subic.
Tolentino is hopeful that the countries represented at the meeting, as well as those invited by the organizing committee but unable to attend, will formalize their entries to the Games.
“We're praying na lahat ng nandito will participate. And positive naman. I think they will. So this will be a very good start and exciting for the country, for the youth, lahat nandito na,” said Tolentino.
“Mayroon pa rin kami-invite na hindi umattend ngayon, for whatever reason, na hindi rin makakatend ng dinner. Pero baka umattend ng SEA, mag-participate. Like Palestine, North Korea, Japan, India,” he added.
Aside from Olympic and Asian Games sports, organizers are also planning to stage para events, with athletics and aquatics likely to be held during the final three days of competition.