Preparing for 2019
Former POC president and Fencing Confederation of Asia president Cito Dayrit shared the other day valuable inputs in preparing for the hosting of the 2019 SEA Games which he said is a “monumental task that requires an expertly laid-out plan.” Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano is the chairman of the Organizing Committee and because of his experience, Dayrit would be a key contributor to the effort as a member of his team.
There isn’t too much time to prepare for the Games. Two years go by quickly. Obviously, undertaking to build new major structures or facilities in time for the Games is out of the question. Not only will it be costly but under the circumstances, completion may not make the deadline. To rush the construction might be too risky. Shortcutting may lead to substandard work.
In this regard, Dayrit said it may be smarter “to identify available facilities that may require minor renovation or retro-fitting” in time for the Games. The country’s 2017 SEA Games chef de mission Cynthia Carrion said Malaysia contracted the global architectural and design group Populous to renovate at least 15 arenas and facilities for the recent conclave. She has referred Brett Wightman, an architect and designer with Populous, to PSC chairman Butch Ramirez for a possible similar engagement. Populous has been in the business for over 30 years and has undertaken over 200 projects all over the world with an estimated worth of $40 Billion. It has 17 offices on four continents with regional offices in Kansas City, London and Brisbane. Wightman is based in Singapore.
In Dayrit’s mind, two goals are paramount for the Organizing Committee – “to organize the Games efficiently and successfully to the expectations of all the participants and for our athletes, to perform creditably to the satisfaction of our countrymen.” Given the importance of the event and the time constraints, Dayrit said it’s imperative “that the people in charge of organizing this major international multisports event possess sufficient knowledge and considerable experience to hit the ground running … it is not only necessary to know what to do but equally important is to know what not to do or what to avoid.”
Here’s Dayrit’s list of don’t dos in gearing for the Games:
“Do not disperse location of sports to provinces as it will cause inconvenience to participants and more cost for organizers. Concentrate on Metro Manila as it has the most sports facilities and hotels available for immediate use. At most, a secondary hub to host water and outdoor sports could be considered.
“Do not allocate hotels by countries as it will cost more to transport athletes to sports venues. Instead, allocate hotels by ‘sports hub’ where all athletes of the same sports are billeted and transported together. This will reduce transport cost and travel time.
“Do not splurge on ceremonies and receptions and minimize inviting guests and officials not directly needed for the Games. Do not invite international officiating officials who require expensive hospitality and stipends. Insist on using qualified sports officials/referees from Asia.
“Do not load up the Games program with too many sports and events. Give priority to sports/events where Filipinos are presently or potentially capable of winning medals. Identify and minimize such events where Filipinos have proven to be weak and disadvantageous. Do not pad up the Games program with artificial events or less known sports which may bring medals temporarily but see such events or sports discontinued in future SEA Games.
“Do not lock up local TV coverage with sports where Filipinos are not expected to excel. Let other SEA countries pay for the coverage of their favorite sports for broadcasting to their countries. Instead, maximize coverage of sports where Filipinos are expected to excel for local broadcasting. Do not delay and scrimp on the training of Filipino athletes with proven potentials. Be prudent in budgeting between foreign competition and foreign training. Do not delay and scrimp on the hiring of foreign experts/ coaches but such experts/coaches should be relevant to athletes with proven medal potentials to ensure desired results in 2019.
“Do not discourage the recruitment of Fil-foreign athletes with proven medal potentials, provided these are truly of Filipino descent. Though this should not be the general direction, Fil-foreign athletes do not only provide an immediate source of medals, they also spur the development of home-grown local athletes.”
While Fil-foreign athletes may deliver instant impact without going through the process of grassroots development on domestic shores, they shouldn’t be at the forefront of the drive for medals. Homegrown athletes should always be in the frontline with Fil-foreigners filling in the gaps, not the other way around.