Tourism Board supports jr wushu tiff

MANILA, Philippines - The Department of Tourism through its Tourism Promotions Board (TPB) has thrown its support behind the seventh Asian Junior Wushu Championship set at the Makati Coliseum Aug. 8-11.

DOT-TPB chief operating officer Domingo Ramon Enerio III said, “We are only too glad to partner Wushu Federation Philippines, one of the best performing national sports associations in the country.

“With the WFP’s passion for excellence, we are confident ‘It’s more fun in the Philippines’ will be amply demonstrated in its hosting of the Asian Junior Wushu Championship which we understand is the launching pad for the country’s bid for the 2015 World Wushu Championship,“ Enerio added.

 WFP secretary general and AJWC organizing committee COO Julian Camacho, who signed the memorandum of agreement with Enerio, said, “We have to show to the tourism leaders we are more than capable of staging a world event via the rousing success of the AJWC. We have done it before with the 1996 Asian Wushu Championships.”

The Philippine Sports Commission, Philippine Olympic Committee, Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office, Arrow shirts and Asia Brewery are also sponsoring the 23-country competition to be covered live by DZSR Sports Radio and telecast on a delayed basis by Solar Sports.

Business Mirror, Malaya, Philippine Star Online, Focus Media and Pilipino Mirror are media partners of the championship serving as the highlight of the observance of the “Philippine Wushu Month” as declared by President Benigno S. Aquino III.

All regions in the continent will be represented. Countries seeing action are Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Vietnam, Philippines from Southeast Asia; Afghanistan, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka (East Asia), China, Chinese-Taipei, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, Macau (South Asia); Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan (Central Asia ); and Iran, Iraq and Kuwait (West Asia).

Twenty-one countries participated in the 1996 Asian Wushu Championships organized by WFP under Benito Lim with Camacho chairing the organizing committee. The championships, which trail blaze the scoring computerization, was hailed as the “best organized continental championship” at that time.