PSC working on getting approval for SEAG athletes training

MANILA, Philippines – In a few months, members of the national team seeing action in the 31st Southeast Asian Games slated November 21 to December 2 will get their turn to start their training too just like the Olympians and Tokyo hopefuls.

“We’re working on that,” said Philippine Sports Commission chief of staff and national training director Marc Velasco in Tuesday’s online Philippine Sportswriters Association Forum.

Velasco said the PSC through its commissioner and newly appointed SEAG chef de mission Ramon Fernandez and Philippine Olympic Committee president Abraham Tolentino are in the process of securing the green light from the Inter Agency Task Force (IATF).

But it may take them until May to get that go signal since the IATF had only allowed a few to start bubble training like boxing, taekwondo, karate and basketball at the Inspire Sports Academy in Calamba, Laguna.

“For now, our SEAG-bound athletes are not allowed to train yet. But if the IATF gives it a go, we’ll still have to work with the national sports associations about the protocols that needed to be strictly enforced,” said Velasco.

Velasco said the key now is getting all the stakeholders like Fernandez and the POC to sit together and set the parameters on how everything should be done similar to the “Calam-bubble.”

Velasco said there are potential venues that they can train the athletes aside from Calamba like the PhilSports Arena in Pasig City, its training center in Baguio, Ormoc where fencing is planning to train, Dumaguete where the national archers are and the New Clark City where the national track and field squad are looking to hold a camp.

The country, which topped the 2019 SEAG, is looking for at least a top three finish in Hanoi.