Del Prado gets fresh mandate as PTA-7 chief

CEBU, Philippines – For the sixth year in a row, sportsman Tony del Prado got a fresh mandate as chairman of the Philippine Taekwondo Association (PTA) Region VII.

A secret balloting was made, with Del Prado getting most of the votes to lead the group again.

All members of the board come from Cebu including Hilarion Elpa, Avenger Alob, Danny Yap, Glenn Lava, Raul Luna and Grace Arnibal.

Lava is the only one who is still actively playing. He got everyone's confidence to be included in the board for producing world-class athletes such as Mikaela Calamba and Rinna Babanto among others.

In his latest term, Del Prado said he will not only focus on the technical side of the sport, but  also on developing future leaders by mentoring  junior blackbelts (aged 12 to 25 years old) in the area of leadership and character development.

Aside from that, PTA-7 will also pool all potential jins both for the poomsae and sparring. The selection process will start next month.

The initial plan is to pick the top 20, with the training to be handled by the Cebu-based elite coaches. The selected pool of talents will also be given leadership roles for they will be the future of Cebu taekwondo.

Del Prado added that they will further promote the Philippine Taekwondo League-Cebu. The tournament features a tag team format.

"We will also strenghten our Phil Taekwondo League-Cebu by encouraging more teams to participate. This is a school-based league which runs from August to November and is held at SM Consolacion," said Del Prado.

The PTL, according to Del Prado, has done a lot in keeping the players sharp. As a result, there are now six players in the national sparring pool.  (FREEMAN)