Asian jr netfest, 9-ball tour reset due to SARS

The spread of the deadly Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) virus has reached an alarming rate in Southeast Asia, forcing the organizing Table Tennis Association of the Philippines (TATAP) and IMG (International Management Group) under the advice of the Southeast Asian Table Tennis Association, to reset the staging of the LG ninth Southeast Asian Junior Table Tennis Championship to September.

Originally slated for April 22-25 at the Glorietta Activity Center in Makati and Rizal Memorial Coliseum, the tournament will be participated by countries, which have reported cases of SARS, a highly-contagious disease that has affected more than 3,000 people around the world, the majority of cases in Asia and Canada. Global death toll now stands at 132.

At the same time, the SARS outbreak in Asia has prompted ESPN STAR Sports to postpone the San Miguel Asian 9-ball Tour’s Hong Kong leg originally scheduled May 3-4. The Tour was launched last month in Singapore and set to travel to Ho Chi Minh, Hong Kong, Taipei and Manila.

"Due to the health concerns surrounding the SARS outbreak, we feel it is prudent to reschedule the Hong Kong leg of the San Miguel Asian 9-Ball. The safety and health of the players and spectators are of the highest importance to us as organizers of the Tour," said Richard Young, ESPN STAR Sports’ vice president of Event Management and Program Development. "We will continue to monitor the situation before announcing the new competition dates."

"We have put so much effort and resources in preparing for the event but have decided to reset it for the good of all the participants and sake of national interest," said Victor Valbuena, president of TATAP.

"The situation calls for a prudent decision, so we have agreed with the Southeast Asian Table Tennis Association (SEATTA) to postpone the event."

"We do not want the tournament to be the cause of concern as most participants come from countries where there have already been reported cases of SARS-related deaths. But we’re definitely pushing through with the event in September. We do not want to let our players down and we would like to fulfill our commitment to our sponsor," added Valbuena.

There was a reported probable case of SARS in the Philippines but the country is still generally free from the deadly virus, according to the Department of Health.

The spread of SARS has been partly attributed to victims traveling from one place to another and infecting other people they had closed contact with.

The San Miguel Asian 9-ball Tour is organized by ESPN STAR Sports’ Event Management Group (EMG). EMG specializes in creating, managing, promoting, consulting, producing and syndicating world-class sporting events throughout Asia.

The Group has been awarded numerous awards, among them; Best Promoted Event in 1998 and 1999 awarded by the ATP; Best Sporting Event in Hong Kong in 1998 and 1999 awarded by the Hong Kong Sports Development Board; and Best Event Organizer in 2000 awarded by the Singapore Tourism Board.

It has managed over 100 events in 11 countries, including the Aviva Asian Bowling Tour and Grand Slam Finals and the six-city Asian Xtour and Asia’s most prestigious action sports competition, the Asian X Games.

The Group also owns and manages the world’s richest futsal competition, the KL World 5s; and in the Summer of 2003 will organize the only official English Premier League pre-season tournament, the F.A. Premier League Asia Cup in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. All events organized by EMG enjoy unrivalled regional broadcast across Asia through the ESPN and STAR Sports channels.