The future of PE (part 2)

“Exercise and recreation are as necessary as reading. I will rather say more necessary, because health is worth more than learning.” – Thomas Jefferson

The challenges of maintaining the physical fitness and associated psychological benefits for students may get worse before they get better. On top of that, the professionals who teach find themselves without a target market.

“The ongoing community quarantine has resulted in the closure of gyms, fitness centers, dance studios, among others,” explains Baham Mitra, Games and Amusements Board chairman. “Hence, many sports stakeholders, including professional and  amateur athletes, physical education instructors, trainers, sports organizations, among others, are left without a steady source of livelihood in this time of crisis. However, the Philippines sports sector must keep on moving. In the face of COVID-19 threat, the government and sports sector must work together to develop different strategies to help our stakeholders adapt to these changes.”

There are many other priorities like restoring businesses, reopening the economy and resuming domestic tourism, all while keeping COVID-19 at bay. It’s bad enough that children aren’t allowed outdoors. Yet, in light of all this, some quarters want to eliminate physical education altogether.

“One senator wanted to take away PE altogether,” says Roger Santos, an arnis master and PE teacher for 20 years. “He was roundly criticized, especially by Sen. Pia Cayetano. We need PE more now, because the body needs exercise and not just follow proper protocol. Students can send in workout/activity videos for online classes for evaluation and correction.”

Still, it’s a big leap from the way things were. The detachment from peers and teachers is difficult to replace or remedy. There is no shared energy of growth and discovery, of being among friends and classmates. Humans are, at their core, social beings. Prolonged separation from playmates may have unforeseen negative effects on our youth. Unlike with grown-ups, minors are still not allowed to congregate, not even in small groups. This means that the challenges of physical education will be around indefinitely.

“On the part of the students, you lose the social interaction and communication aspect that they get from face to face PE classes,” adds coach Eric Altamirano, who ran National University’s basketball program for a decade. “Face-to-face PE seemed to be something real compared to online, everything feels fictitious and uninspiring. It’s hard to motivate students while you’re on the other side of the computer monitor.”

Then again, this is still just part of an even larger picture of the global fitness industry. Suppliers of PE uniforms, equipment and accessories are all feeling the pinch. Grade school students grow rapidly, and purchase at least one set of shirt, shorts, sweat pants, and even towels, socks and shoes from their schools annually. Manufacturers of basketballs, footballs, volleyballs, arnis sticks and the like have no alternative buyers for their products. All the attendant businesses to physical education have lost their entire market. And gyms are now allowed to operate, as with most other industries that reopened ahead, recovery will be a slow, uncertain process.

“I really don’t know what will happen to the fitness industry here in our place,” admits Jess Lasig, an internationally-certified fitness professional based in Lipa, Batangas. Lasig worked overseas for years before returning to the Philippines. “It affects everybody even in other countries. All coaches are finding ways to survive. Marketing helps me allot to build my business. I’m surviving by doing virtual and personal home training. Right now, I’m still doing okay.”

The best we can do is mitigate the impact on the PE and fitness communities by patronizing each other’s services, and working together.