National Collegiate Games set

CEBU, Philippines - What was known as the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) National Games last year will now be called the National Collegiate Games (NCG).

This change in the name of the national sports meet of the private schools comes with a new administration at CHED.

Other than the change in name, the support that the multi-sport event once got from government would not also be there this time.

Former CHED Chairman Emmanuel Angeles will still be at the helm of the NCG, but this time, the resources of the members of the Private Schools Athletic Association and the State Colleges and Universities Athletic Association will be used for the meet.

PRISAA president and former Philippine Sports Commission executive director and commissioner, Fr. Vicente L. Uy, SVD said that Angeles met with the other members of the national board and regional presidents in the country to discuss the matter.

It was the name of the sporting event only that was changed since the National Collegiate Games still follows the same format as the CHED National Games.

"The NCG will still be led by Angeles, but this time we rely on our own resources coming from the private schools and the state colleges and universities and it's no longer a government-supported event. This could prove that we can already rely on the support and the participation of the member schools," said Uy.

Fr. Uy said that the budget for the organizing alone would range from four to five million pesos excluding the athletes' allowances, fare and other expenses.

"We don't see any problem anymore regarding the staging of the NCG because it's still the same people who are running the event, we did not make any major changes in the format of the games. It's the name only that was changed," said Uy.

In the same manner, from Regional Athletic Higher Education Institutions (RAHEI) last year it will now be Regional Collegiate Games.

The Regional Collegiate Games kicks off on December 2-4 here at the Queen City of the South with the winners from the different delegations of Central Visayas competing in the different sporting events.

Even if the RCG has not yet started, the NCG is already scheduled on February 20-26 in Metro Manila.

Cebu City supposedly will be hosting the nationals as announced by Angeles in the closing ceremonies last year in Manila but later declined since the renovation of the Cebu City Sports Center (CCSC) track oval, will start next year.

To recall, last year's action saw Central Visayas bagging third place overall with 33 golds, 42 silvers and 34 bronzes while the National Capital Region was way on top of the medal standings with 173 golds, 42 silvers and 40 bronzes, with Region VI (Western Visayas) a distant second (40-75-54) and Region IV-A (Calabarzon) in the fourth spot (25-37-46).

PRISAA Cebu coordinator Ryan Aznar said, "I hope that we can overtake Western Visayas this year. With the streaming of athletes for this year, we will have more chances of winning already." (THE FREEMAN)