Lobby for more SEAG events urged

It’s not too late to fight for the inclusion of more events in the 24th Southeast Asian Games set in Thailand this December.

Wushu president Julian Camacho, also head of the RP SEA Games task force, has urged the different national sports associations deeply affected by reduced number of events in Thailand to start lobbying for their cause.

Camacho, however, said the NSAs should take the initiative, and start calling on the other participating countries to lobby for the inclusion of more events. Under SEA Games rules, an event will be included if there are at least four countries fielding entries.

"We at wushu have been calling on the other national federations in our sport. And I have talked to six to seven of them. We all want more than just 12 events in wushu," said Camacho.

"The other NSAs from our country should do the same. Their officials should talk to their counterparts because the Philippine Olympic Committee cannot do that for them," said the wushu president.

The final number of gold medals to be disputed in the Thailand SEA Games has yet to be finalized, and this will be one of the major points to be tackled when the SEA Games Federation meets on May 16 in Bangkok.

As it is, there are 41 sports and over 400 events lined up.

So far, 22 of the 112 events won by the Philippines in the 2005 SEA Games have been scrapped, including those in diving, women’s boxing, wushu, traditional boat race and wrestling.

Among the athletes who may be affected are triple-gold winner Shiela Mae Perez of diving, Asian Games gold medalist Rene Catalan of wushu, three-gold winner Marcus Valda and Francis Villanueva of wrestling, Mitchelle Martinez of boxing, and men’s and women’s teams in traditional boat race.