Milo Little Olympics

In the sports world, one of the best experiences of any athlete will always be an “Olympics.” It’s usually the big multi-sport event that gathers the best athletes in a city, and features the world’s most popular sports/events. The biggest of them all will always be the OLYMPICS which takes place every four years. The last was held in London in 2012 and the next edition is in 2016. There you’ll see only the best of the best and nothing less. You name it, they have it.

But an Olympics isn’t only for the world’s premier athletes. The foundation can be found in other forms of “Olympics” on a smaller scale and at the lower, more grassroots level. Here in the Philippines, one of these is the Milo Little Olympics (MLO), and this weekend, Cebu is hosting the fifth national finals of what has now become one of the biggest multi-sport events in the country. Competing for supremacy are teams representing Luzon, Visayas, Mindanao and the National Capital Region. Each area had its own regional finals of an Olympics with all winners clashing this weekend at this national finals. The different areas also take turns in hosting the national final. Cebu is the base for Visayas, Cagayan de Oro for Mindanao, Baguio for Luzon and Marikina for the NCR. The event has made the round of all four places and now comes back to where it all started: over beloved Cebu.

So what’s happening around the city? With the Cebu City Sports Center as the main hub, athletes compete against each other 13 different events: Athletics (track and field), badminton, basketball, chess, football, gymnastics, lawn tennis, scrabble, sipa/sepak takraw, swimming, table tennis, taekwondo, and volleyball. Different venues have been tapped across the city, making Cebu a beehive of  sports action featuring athletes from Appari to Jolo. At stake is an overall team championship which will be based on the performance of all teams in the different events. A ranking/points system is established for the teams that finish at the top of each event. All four teams will thus receive points based on their finish. Through the years, Team Visayas has been a dominating presence winning the overall championship of the first three editions (2009, 2010 and 2011). NCR won the overall championship last year when it also hosted the national finals.

Among the highlights of the Olympics is that all athletes get to experience what a real Olympics is like. They marched at the opening ceremonies Friday night, complete with an elegant and explosive program of dance numbers, songs and video presentations. The lighting of the torch was unique as a football player “kicked” the flame to light the torch, a spectacle that drew ooh’s and aah’s of the crowd. Milo’s VIPs and organizers were all in formal attire (barong and dresses) with Nestle Philippines CEO John Martin Miller in a coat and tie. Miller and Mayor Mike Rama gave short talks, and the games were on. All athletes and coaches (except for the Cebuanos) are staying at the Sarrosa Hotel, giving everyone that feel of being pampered at an Olympic-style event. And it’s for free! Meals, air-conditioned rooms and tourist buses; all for a free stay in Cebu. What else can you ask for? The only thing missing is a trip to the beach! This should make athletes look forward even more every year to winning at their regional finals of the Milo Little Olympics. All should seize the moment. One doesn’t get to go through something like this at the other Olympic-style events in the country. Palaro? Batang Pinoy? CVIRAA? I’m afraid the bar has been raised by Milo and the DEPED and PSC are drooling with envy.

Amidst all this is the feat that athletes will develop more as individuals growing in character. Nestle’s CEO Jon Martin Miller hit it right on the head when he said that athletes develop character and it’s character that makes all champions in life. He added further that while talent makes one champions, character keeps them there.

What a way to hit a lot of  birds with just one stone. Kudos to the Milo Little Olympics and may you continue to help our children, our country become champions in life.

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Time-out: Let’s never slacken in praying for and helping the victims of Yolanda and Linog 7.2. >>> You can reach me at [email protected].