Task force puts 282 SEAG ‘shoo-ins’ under scrutiny

The SEA Games task force is screening the 282 Filipino athletes who have automatically qualified for the 24th staging of the biennial event in Thailand Dec. 6-16.

Mark Joseph, head of the RP swimming association and member of the task force, said they will try to determine who among these athletes are still willing and able to don the RP colors.

"Some of these athletes have either retired or are probably nursing injuries. Or maybe their respective sport or event is not at all included in this year’s calendar," said Joseph.

The 282 athletes represent the gold and silver medalists in the 2005 Manila SEA Games won by the Philippines. Only the bronze medalists are not seeded in this year’s delegation.

Joseph said the task force, in coordination with the different national sports associations, will be done with the screening by April. Among the sports where the Philippines won a bunch of gold medals but are not yet in the Thailand calendar are arnis, gymnastics, chess, billiards and bodybuilding.

Joseph said they will lobby for the inclusion of these disciplines during the SEA Games Federation meeting next month in Thailand. At least four countries must lobby for the inclusion of a sport for it to be reconsidered.

With nine months left before the Games, Thai organizers are looking at 43 disciplines and 441 gold medals to be disputed. During the Manila SEAG, 41 disciplines with almost the same number of medals were at stake.

Local sports officials believe that with the inclusion of 10 other team sports, especially basketball, the number of athletes that will represent the country in Thailand may reach 400.