PSL, DPS launch swimming program

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippine Swimming League, in cooperation with the Diliman Preparatory School, has launched an intensive swimming program designed to teach swimmers at all levels at the DPS Swimming Center on Commonwealth Avenue, Quezon City.

The PSL, headed by Susan Papa of the Susan Papa Swimming Academy, and the DPS, under president and CEO, former Sen. Nikki Coseteng, recently signed an agreement for the development of the PSL swimming program using the facilities of the Olympic standard swimming pools of the DPS.

The joint program will be under the supervision of high-performance coach Dennis Cordero.

By next school year, the DPS Swimming Center will be used to train pre-school, elementary and high school students of the DPS as part of the school’s curriculum while conducting elite training for DPS and other age group swimmers for national and international competitions.

Aside from regular swimming regimens at the DPS Swimming Center, which is envisioned to be the home of homegrown future national and international champions, PSL will be conducting open and invitational age group competitions on top of the regular monthly competitions which it started next year.

Denjylie Cordero, fresh from her victory in Asean University Games, called on Sen. Nikki Coseteng.

The PSL monthly competitions will be held in the 50-m swimming pool of the Amoranto Stadium under a separate program supported by the Quezon City government under Mayor Herbert Bautista and Vice Mayor Joy Belmonte and the Amoranto Sports Complex administration under Andy Apostol.

The PSL-Amoranto monthly competitions will serve as the testing ground for swimmers on the club level, while the DPS-PSL competitions will also be participated in by foreign swimming clubs on the ASEAN level.

At the same time, outstanding students culled from the program will have the chance to measure their progress through any or all of the seven international age group swimming competitions lined up by PSL in Australia, Brunei, Singaproe, Malaysia and Bangkok.

“There is no holiday for the swimmers in preparation for more international and local competitions,” Papa said.

Also part of the PSL program which starts this month is the holding of clinics for coaches both locally and abroad.

“Last year we are able to send six coaches and eight swimmers with free airfare and accommodation,” said Papa. “Last year the league participated in six international competitions.”

Other seminars and clinics hosted by the World Swimming Coaches Association and American Swimming Coaches Association will be attended by PSL coaches and athletes this year, Papa added.

Coseteng, who along with the Susan Papa Swimming Academy, spearheaded the highly successful Great Pinoy Peace and Unity Swim, one of the top 10 success sports stories of the year, is giving her all out support to the joint training program and recently got a commitment from Philippine Sports Commission chair Richie Garcia that swimmers from the DPS-PSL program can now join the national tryouts for the SEA Games, Asian Games and Olympics.

In the past, only members of Philippine Amateur Swimming Association could join the national tryouts and all PASA-conducted and sanctioned tournaments.

Garcia, in a text message to Coseteng , said he already presented the tryout proposal to the PSC board. She said POC president Peping Cojuangco had already approved the proposal.