Shared wisdom

In 1992, the first iteration of the Philippine Sports Commission under president Fidel Ramos organized the first Philippine Sports Summit in Baguio City. The event brought together over 800 stakeholders, coaches, athletes, and officials over three days to draft a Magna Carta for Philippine sports. A few years later, a second one was held in Metro Manila. Unfortunately, the momentum was not sustained, for various reasons. A few years ago, the Games and Amusements Board under chairman Baham Mitra held its own Professional Sports Summit. Though the two are quite different, both aimed to consolidate a vision for a better future in Philippine sports.

Now, a formidable group of like-minded and accomplished individuals have assembled to continue with the fourth Online Sports Leadership Program (OSLP) National Sports Summit, which will be held in Mandaue City from June 19 to 21. Held annually, the OSLP Summit gathers local and international sports leaders, coaches, athletes and stakeholders in collaboration to strengthen the future of Philippine sports by sharing values and promoting Olympic ideals to inspire community development.

OSLP founders Akiko Thomson, chairperson of Special Olympics Pilipinas, and coach Noli Ayo, assistant to the president for sports and development at Lyceum of the Philippines University (LPU)-Davao and Mindanao coordinator of the Philippine Sports Commission, were with Philippine Olympians Association president Stephen Fernandez at a press conference in Mandaue Friday. The first two editions were held in Puerto Princesa, Palawan, while the third was staged in Tuguegarao.

“We believe it is vital for us to share our knowledge and wisdom so as to move forward as one,” says Ayo, who is also the commissioner of the Makabansa Basketball League. “We value working together for the greater good of all.”

The lineup of speakers for this edition will include sports professionals from Japan and Canada, as well as local sports leaders like Paolo Trillo of the MVP Sports Foundation, Nicole Tiamzon of Spike and Serve Philippines, and sports advocate and broadcaster Migs Bustos, all of whom will share their stories and insights. Olympians like Hidilyn Diaz-Naranjo and Jethro Dionisio have also been invited to share their experiences.

These experiences are rare and have great value. You never know where wisdom can come from. Particularly for young people involved in sports, this is a rare opportunity to hear from those who came before them and reached the highest levels of leadership and performance in sports.

The three-day OSLP Summit will be held at Sacred Heart School – Ateneo de Cebu in Mandaue City. Registration fee is P5,000 and participation will be limited to 250 persons.