PSC set to test athletes’ psyche

THE Philippine Sports Commission philippine Sports Institute (PSC-PSI) Sports Psychology Unit asked national sports associations (NSAS) to participate in an exercise that will examine the experiences of national and professional athletes during the Covid-19 extended enhanced community quarantine (ECQ).

The exercise, which comes in the form of an online survey, was indicated in a confidential memo circulated on Tuesday to all NSAS. Participation in the exercise is on a voluntary basis.

“This crisis is tough for our athletes and officials as they navigate through postponement of major competitions and anticipate new challenges,” the memo said. “Thus, the research team would like to gather information on elite athletes’ physical activity and well-being during this pandemic.”

The PSC-PSI Sports Psychology Unit is conducting the exercise in collaboration with the Special Interest Group-sport and Exercise Psychology of the Psychological Association of the Philippines.

“Their [athletes] participation in the survey is completely voluntary and all of the responses will be kept confidential,” the memo said. “However, we request that you monitor their participation in this survey to provide information to the research team on the size and profile of the sample.”

“We welcome feedback from our athletes and we hope that this study will provide us with valuable information on how best to understand and support them during this pandemic,”the memo furthered.

The PSC has since been supportive of the national athletes and coaches since the start of the ECQ by releasing their monthly allowances. The agency, however, strictly advised national team members to observe stay-at-home protocols and banned them from training outdoors.