CCSC announces guidelines for sports return

CEBU, Philippines —  Vaccination and registration of events are a must before the Cebu City government gives a nod to the holding of training and tournaments here beginning March 25.

These two important conditions are contained in the general health and safety guidelines in sports that was formally announced during a joint press conference by Cebu City Vice Mayor Dondon Hontiveros, councilor Joel Garganera, the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) deputy implementer, and Cebu City Sports Commission (CCSC) chairman John Pages at the office of Hontiveros yesterday.

In the guidelines, all sporting events that will be held within Cebu City must be registered with the CCSC. This includes all barangay, school-based, recreational, corporate amateur, and professional sports.

Registration forms can be accessed via CCSC’s Facebook page. The form must be completed at least two weeks prior to the event proper.

“It’s just a simple registration and will just take a couple of minutes to fill in,”said Pages.

Along with the registration, the organizers are expected to ensure that all coaches, players, and support staff as well as the spectators are fully-vaccinated against Covid-19 for enclosed venues.

Sanitation of venues is also mandated, while a separate entry and exit has to be identified with only the playing teams and staff allowed in the bench and dugouts.

A medical team and a protocol officer should also be present during practices and competitions.

Organizers may also request the EOC for assistance with a medical team if they do not have any, Hontiveros said.

Although the city is already under a much relaxed alert Level 1, it does not mean that Covid-19 is no longer around, Garganera said.

Thus, the safety of everyone should not be neglected.

With this, Pages urged those in the sporting community to cooperate and help one another.

Appropriate sanctions will be imposed on those who will violate the guidelines set, but Pages hopes that it will not reach a point of stopping the event.

“Rules are rules. I hope everyone cooperates. We are now allowing sporting events but we don’t want to be captive for another year because of non-compliance of protocols,” said Garganera.