National Age Group swim tilt slated this weekend

MANILA, Philippines -- The first National Age Group Championships is set to kick off this weekend at the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex in Manila.

The Philippines Aquatics Inc. will host the three-day event that will start on Friday at the Teofilo Yldefonso swimming pool.

The event will feature top junior swimmers, including Asian junior gold medalist and record holder Jamesray Mishael Ajido, two-time World Junior Championship campaigner Jasmine Mojdeh, and fellow Asian meet campaigner Aishel Evangelista, Patricia Mae Santor and Ricielle Maleeka Melencio.

PAI executive director Anthony Reyes said that about 700 swimmers will participate in the event, which is “the biggest local swimming competition since PAI introduced the national ranking system for all local swimming body registered members.”

There will be timed finals for classes A, B and C 8-under, 9, 10, 11,12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, and 18-over age groups.

PAI Secretary-General Eric Buhain, in a statement, said that a short tribute for the late executive director Francisco Rivera who recently died due to a heart attack.

“Coach Chito (Rivera) is a great loss to Philippine aquatics. But his legacy lives on as we continue to put our best foot forward to further enhance the development of swimming and the other disciplines in aquatics,” Buhain said.

“We're targeting a better future in open water, water polo, diving, and artistic swimming, from regional to national levels,” he added.

“All these align with coach Chito’s hard work and planning, and we take pride in continuing these reforms to improve aquatics for all concerned.”