Horrors and wonders

NAKHON RATCHASIMA, Thailand – A broad mixture of unbelievable disorganization, blatant cheating and spectacle greeted the bulk of athletes and officials at the 24th Southeast Asian Games here. On one hand, the impressive opening ceremony took visitors’ breath away. On the other hand, the messes in scheduling and attempts to take advantage of hometown decisions left delegates blue in the face.

The site of the main stadium is impressive enough, huge sporting structures in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by newly dug dirt roads and farmed trees. Athletes will never have to worry about distractions out here in the middle of nowhere. And the athletes’ village in the nearby Suranaree University provides a detached, secure venue to rest and recover from competition. And the international food, prepared by culinary students here, is well- prepared and endless.

But this is all overshadowed by attempts by the hosts to put roadblocks in the path of Team Philippines. Among them are the changes in schedule, such as the attempt to change the schedule to allow the hosts to scout our new women’s players. Other schedule changes leave our officials surprised and furious. As of Thursday night, some of our athletes were still arriving in Nakhon Ratchasima. The dancesport contingent arrived without its coaches, as the Dancesport Council decided not to let any of the coaches go, since they wouldn’t be able to send all of them. Some of the athletes complained that the food for their trip from the new airport was not transferred onto their shuttle buses. And some bus drivers even refused to stop to allow our athletes to use the bathroom.

Over a hundred Filipino athletes were stranded in Bangkok and unable to make the four-hour drive to Nakhon Ratchasima, site of the opening ceremonies. Apparently, the organizers underestimated the traffic, or the number of buses needed to ferry foreign delegates back and forth.

The thousands of athletes from the 11 participating countries were lined up outside the main stadium for more than an hour before the opening, and for more than an hour during the ceremony. Part of the opening required a giant tarpaulin with the words “SEA GAMES SAVE THE WORLD” on it to be spread out over all the delegates. It made an impressive sight on television, but also suffocated the athletes.

The opening ceremony itself lasted over two hours, and encompassed the history of Thailand, a tribute to the king for his 80th birthday the day before, and fireworks, thousands of costumed dancers, laser lights, pyrotechnics and commissioned musical pieces. The crowd was handed strobing plastic wands that gave the darkness an ethereal quality.

Meanwhile, our coaches and officials are scrambling to determine the final practice schedules, game times and assignments of referees and other details that impact our successes. Cyclist Joey Barba, who broke the ice by winning the men’s downhill with a time of 3:56.92 Thursday morning, said he was lucky to do so.

“I didn’t expect to win,” Barba told The STAR. “I had never seen a course too steep. In fact, I had tumbled many times until the seeding run (where he finished second). I’m just so happy that I can be an inspiration to my fellow Filipino athletes.” Incidentally, though each country was allowed two cyclists, Barba rode by his lonesome.

Some of the delegates also promised tickets for the opening were also left looking for their seats, and had to be moved to other sections of the sprawling stadium. Security was tight, because it was the day after the king’s birthday, and the Crown Prince was coming to preside over the opening. Traffic going to and from the venue was unbelievable, similar to what you’d commonly see in a bustling city like Bangkok, but not in a country town.

Our own committees didn’t do as well, either. There was some griping by the athletes when their usual $300 allowance for competition was being cut by the Philippine task force for the SEA Games. Some of the equipment and uniforms for 15 sports – including wrestling, boxing and track and field – were supposedly forgotten. Luckily, Philippine Sports Commission chairman Butch Ramirez came to the rescue.

“In any sport event, where so much is going on, you have to expect that the hosts will do what they can to get an advantage,” Ramirez said. “For our part, we have to make sure that our athletes are taken care of, so that they can concentrate on just playing.”

Despite all the problems, the Philippines is still expecting to win at least 85 to 100 golds, and finish a strong second or third, since Thailand’s organizing committee already trimmed off many events and categories where we are defending champions. But, as Ramirez said, “We did not come here to lose.”