On World Cup, running and street children

The other day The STAR featured a report from Zurich, Switzerland that FIFA (the international football federation) made a profit of $196 million in 2009 and increased its reserves to more than $1 billion as football’s commercial appeal defied the global economic crisis. FIFA president Sepp Blatter said that the financial report showed that awarding the 2010 World Cup to South Africa was a “good financial and commercial decision.”

Indeed, the World Cup of football, which will be held for the first time in Africa, promises to be a continuing commercial success given the ease of highlighting athletic artistry and athleticism in the sport through TV for millions of people to see.

Next week, more on the World Cup 2010.

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Often, we get words of advice from physical education practitioners like former Philippine Sports Commission chairman Perry Mequi, dean of the College of Physical Education of Foundation University (FU) in Dumaguete. Mequi cautions those “overcome by euphoria having completed marathons (since) the body can only take so much stress. Over physical stress may do damage in the long run.” Mequi, a bronze medalist in track and field in the Asian Games in Manila in 1951, says he knows of several fellow runners who finished more than 25 to 30 marathons, some of them back-to-back, who are now invalid in their advance age.

Mequi, 72, suggests it “might be prudent to consult your doctors about physical stress and its effect on your body. Different bodies have different capacity for stress, he adds. Mequi, who has run several full marathons and still jogs 45 to 6o minutes daily (with the permission of his geriatrician), ends his message with the unsolicited advice to people in their 60’s and septuagenarians to refrain from long distance running.

As an academician, Mequi continues to advocate wellness cum environmental protection projects. He has therefore urged his students to do scholarly research on wellness that will help FU address its curriculum to the needs of society, especially the youth.

In a master’s thesis of Kathleen Dellona, a PE teacher at FU, it was found that more than 50% of entering freshmen enrolled in PE 1 (Foundations of Wellness) are at risk, utilizing the hip-waist ratio to assess nutritional fitness. In addition, 99% were found to have very poor cardio-respiratory or aerobic fitness as measured by Cooper’s 12-minute run. These findings convinced FU to institute drastic changes in its PE program, specifically PE 1.

Several weeks ago, Mequi successfully organized the First PE 1 Quarter Marathon (10.5) Walk. Some 160 students took part in the walk, participation in which has become a requirement for passing the course. Mequi hopes that with this requirement, FU will be able to imprint in the psyche of the students the need to be active and the simple and easiest way to be active is to walk, walk, walk. Mequi says that FU has adopted the philosophy to save life and do good through the motto, at FU, we lead and live the healthy, active and vigorous life.

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Aside from sports and helping protect democratic institutions and processes, one of our advocacies is promoting the welfare of youth-at-risk such as street children. Over the last three years, the Men of St. Joseph have been organizing the Men of St. Joseph (MSJ)/Santuario de San Jose Charity Golf tournament, part of the proceeds of which will help support the Silong Tanglaw Foundation for Street Children. The MSJ is a group of male parishioners of Green Hills villages and West Crame devoted to honoring St. Joseph, patron saint of Santuario de San Jose.

The MSJ recently staged the third Charity Golf Tournament at the Wack Wack Golf and Country Club. Funds raised from the tournament will be used to support Silong Tanglaw and the St. Joseph Pastoral Center, which will house the Parish Outreach Program for the poorest of the poor in West Crame. Some of the Center’s projects in the pipeline are free pre-school education, livelihood skills training, medical/dental missions, provision of library internet facilities, and other outreach programs of the parish.

The tournament had the following as winners: Champions – Allan Alegre, overall; Austin Mata, overall low gross; Henry Tan, class A ; Sunny Tan, class B; Vince de la Cruz, class C; Runners-up – Jim Barnum, class A; Danny Maquiraya, class B; and Manning Sian, class C.

Tournament organizers, led by parish priest, Fr. Noel Magtaas, OSJ and MSJ head Raymund Atendido, have nothing but appreciation for the support of all the tournament’s benefactors and participants. The sponsors of the tournament are San Miguel Corporation, Pagcor, Mercury Drug Corporation, Bench, Stradcom, The Glass Garden, Philippine Prudential, Promac, The Plaza, Raymundo’s Trophies and Pacsports.