PH SEA Games preparations on track
Credit to Author: EDDIE G. ALINEA| Date: Tue, 05 Feb 2019 17:50:07 +0000
(First part)
No, the Philippines is not taking the hosting of this year’s 30th Southeast Asian Games lightly.
“Everything is moving quietly and without fanfare. Not as smoothly as we would have wanted it though,” Tom Carrasco, head of the Triathlon Association of the Philippines and executive director of the Philippines SEA Games Organizing Committee (PHILGOC), assured. We’re scrambling a bit not of our own making, however.”
“Rest assure, though, that before we raised the curtains opening the Games on November 30, all, including the most important infrastructure requirements shall have been completed on time,” asserted
“We’re not even compromising our people’s world-renowned Filipino hospitality,” he said.
“Alam mo na naman tayong Pilipino, in our three times of hosting this event, lagi tayong hirap. But in the end, we met he deadlines albeit scrambling, with flying colors,” Carrasco said reminiscing the country’s experience in 1981, 1991and 2005, the first times it played host to the biennial conclave among the finest athletes from the regions’ 11-member countries.
As Carrasco stressed, the most important aspect of preparations, infrastructure, particularly venues for the 56 sports are currently being addressed.
Games’ sites were distributed in clusters with Clark in Pampanga having 40 percent of the required venues, Subic in Zambales 20 percent, Metro Manila and suburbs 10 percent.
This Philippine 2019 Games is most notable for having the highest number of sports in the history of the games at 56.
Hosting rights of the 2019 edition of the Games were originally awarded to Brunei Darussalam, but the country pulled out days before the 2015 Southeast Asian Games due to “financial and logistical reasons.”
The Philippine Olympic Committee, then headed by Jose “Peping”Cojuangco, first volunteered to save the games, but met opposition following the withdrawal of government support on July 2017 as it planned to use the funds intended for the games on the rehabilitation of Marawi after being occupied by ISIS supporters.
Thailand was willing to step in, but eventually, the Philippines reversed its support and announced that it accepted the hosting of the Games on 16 August 2017. The country’s hosting of the SEA Games is considered as a stepping stone for its possible bid to host the 2030 Asian Games.
Clark will serve as the main hub of the Games with medal-rich athletics and aquatics (swimming, diving and water polo) scheduled at the New Clark City.
Other sports to be held at Clark are baseball, softball (The Village), dance sport (Royce Hotel), golf (Luisita), judo, juijitsu, kurash (ASEAN Convention Center), arnis, samba, wrestling (Angeles University Foundation), lawn bowls (Old Club) and wakeboarding DECA Waleboard Park).
Subic will be hosting 17 sports – canoe kayak, dragon boat, chess, muay, pencat silat, table tennis, weightlifting, triathlon, duathlon, open water swimming, modern pentathlon, sailing, sepak takraw, beach handball and beach volleyball.
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