Sports awards

If there was a sporting even held over lunch yesterday, it would probably have not been covered as almost all sportswriters of Cebu were gathered for a meeting to deliberate on who will be recognized in the 30th All-Cebu Sports Awards.

The first time I attended a meeting of the Sportswriters Association of Cebu (SAC) was 22 years ago when I was a very new sports reporter and photographer.

Then, there were not more than 10 present and that already represented all newspapers.

It was a much different scene in yesterday’s meeting as we had to ask the waiters to bring in more chairs as the other members of the SAC started arriving.

Like the annual sports awards, the organization has also grown. This is also because of the fact that when I was starting as a sportswriter, there was only a Sports page. Now, we have a Sports section that features several pages and we are covering a wider variety of sporting events from the local to the regional, national, and international levels.

When I was sports editor of this paper, I used to tell our staff that we should be actively involved in the various sporting groups and events in Cebu as these justify our profession.

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The annual awards, which has been bankrolled by San Miguel Corporation the past 30 years is SAC’s way to recognizing the sporting heroes, who filled up the sports pages of the newspapers.

The annual awards ceremony is also meant as a time for the writers and the sports personalities to gather in one venue to know each other better.

It was only through this event that I would get to meet some of the sporting heroes, whose feats I had written about in the past based on the results provided to us by organizers.

After missing last year’s awards ceremonies due to a conflict in schedule with the Philippine Airlines Interclub, I am looking forward to being able to attend this year’s event.

The final list of awardees will be announced soon after the deliberations of the members of the SAC.

To all those who will make it this year, congratulations! To those who almost made it, there are many more competitions to join and medals to win this year, so never give up.

One more thing that makes this annual awards activity very close to my heart is that twice, I was recognized as Judo Athlete of the Year.

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MILESTONES: Belated happy birthday greetings to those who turned a year older last Monday like PSIS-7 president Atty. Michelle Mendez-Palmares, Melissa Sykimte-Maniwang, and Janette Mendoza-Fidler.

Belated greetings also go to those who turned a year older yesterday like my Tao sister Regina Casano, PCG Capt. Ramil Roberto B. Enriquez, Amor Parangan-Flores, and Raul Benjamin Fuentespina.

Today’s greetings go to ASAP’s Perl Arienza-Jacalan, Haidee Heredia-Pulido, and Sarah Sulay.

More power to all of you!

By the way, thanks to all who wished me well when I fell ill last weekend most especially to my classmate Dr. Geraldine Alcarez-Co. - THE FREEMAN