POC to pave way for Olympic gold

No Filipino has ever won an Olympic gold medal in the 18 editions that the Philippines has sent athletes to the Summer Games since 1924 in Paris. So far, the country has harvested only two silvers and seven bronzes with boxing accounting for five of the nine medals, including the pair of silvers.

In Olympic history, the Philippines is in second place behind Mongolia in the dubious category of countries with the most medals won but without a single gold. Mongolia is on top of the ladder with 15 medals, including a bronze at the 2004 Athens Olympics where the Philippines’ delegation of 14 athletes was blanked.

Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) chairman Robert Aventajado said the other day the lack of a road map has been the country’s major stumbling block in the hunt for Olympic gold.

"The athletes aren’t to blame," he said. "And it has nothing to do with the Malay race. Most of the NSAs (National Sports Associations) that failed in the Doha Asian Games don’t have long-term development programs. In the movies, you don’t blame the actor if there is no script or no production. A system has to be in place for us to find our first Filipino Olympic gold medalist."

Aventajado, however, said the creation of the Philippine Olympic Festival (POF) could be the solution to the problem.

Last June, the POC organized the first POF which mobilized 6,867 athletes, gave out 3,577 medals, involved 28 NSAs, held competitions in 17 Olympic sports and linked up with 15 venue partners.

"It was our initial attempt to institutionalize a program that could be the pathway or stepladder for athletes to the Olympics, the Asian Games and the Southeast Asian Games," said Aventajado. "The first Festival was organized in only nine weeks and took eight days to finish. The opening ceremonies were hosted by Gov. Tommy Joson in Nueva Ecija where the athletic events were held. Subic hosted archery, canoe and kayak and equestrian. Rizal Memorial was the venue for taekwondo, wushu and gymnastics. Lanao del Norte hosted boxing and the aquatic events were held at the Trace pool in Los Banos."The second POF will be split into divisional competitions (starting with the Mindanao Games hosted by North Cotabato Gov. Manny Piñol on Jan. 15-21, moving to the Visayan Games hosted by Antique Gov. Sally Perez on Feb. 19-25, the Bicol-Southern Tagalog Games (Camarines Sur begged off from hosting because of the recent calamity), the Central-Northern Luzon Games hosted by Ilocos Sur Gov. Chavit Singson on March 26-April 1 and finally, the National Capital Region Games hosted by Mayor Marides Fernando of Marikina and Quezon City Mayor Sonny Belmonte in August) and the National Championships hosted by Gov. Joson in Nueva Ecija on Sept. 3-9.

The competitions will involve 18 Olympic and 14 non-Olympic sports. NSAs will be given the freedom to set age limits for the events, depending on their talent identification requirements.

Aventajado explained that in taekwondo, the age limit will likely be 17 since jins peak at 21 or 22 and the long-term goal is to develop medal contenders for the 2012 London Olympics. He said competitions in various sports could be in the grade school level (10-13 age group), high school (14-17) and seniors (18-25).

National athletes will be eligible to participate in the Festival only in the National Championships and are disqualified from the divisional competitions to give a chance for new discoveries.

"The Festival is the perfect stage for talent identification since we will be teaming with LGUs (local government units) in the divisional competitions," said Aventajado. "We will look into genetics and launch a phase-to-phase program where we start with fundamentals and progress into training to compete and ultimately, training to win. We will integrate vertically and horizontally, tapping athletes from schools, out of school and the NSAs. This will be the legacy that our POC leadership today can leave behind."

Aventajado said the Festival will unveil future elite athletes to be supported by the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC).

"We’ve talked with (PSC chairman) Butch Ramirez about the Festival and he’s excited about the prospects of laying the groundwork for a long-term athletes development program," said Aventajado. "This will clearly define objectives and set measurable deliverables. We will actively participate in developing athletes from when they’re young to when they’re ready for the SEA Games, the Asian Games and the Olympics."

Aventajado said the Festival will not conflict with but complement the Palarong Pambansa, organized by the Department of Education. With the apparent demise of the National Games and the Batang Pinoy program, the Festival assumes a more important role to play in the search for and development of world-class athletes.

"We will try to simulate the Asian Games in the Festival," said Aventajado. "This way, our budding athletes are exposed to conditions they will later experience in international competitions. We will publish medal standings for each province to encourage team spirit like in the Olympics."

Aventajado said the Armed Forces of the Philippines will be allowed to send entries in the divisional competitions. An invitation has also been extended to the MILF to participate in the Mindanao Games with athletes given safe passage in an Olympic-style truce.

Aventajado said the POC is in the process of identifying 10 Olympic sports where two up-and-coming Filipino athletes will be chosen as POF scholars to be given financial support in training for future international competitions.

POC president Jose Cojuangco, Jr., Aventajado, Akiko Thomson, Dina Bernardo and Mark Joseph make up the committee that will choose the 10 sports and the 20 athletes.

"We’re hoping to involve prominent personalities like Manny Pacquiao in supporting the POF scholars," said Aventajado. "We are tapping the resources of the First Gold Foundation set up in the US to find the first Filipino Olympic gold medalist, the Olympic Solidarity movement and POF sponsors for the scholarship program."