NCAA, UAAP WELCOME DOH MEMO

COLLEGIATE leagues welcomed a recent Department of Health (DOH) memorandum that conveys policies and regulations on the return of sports leagues amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Management Committee Chairman Fr. Vic Calvo described the DOH memorandum as a positive development that would guide the country’s oldest league as it targets to hold Season 96 this year.

University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) board of trustees member Francisco “Kiko” Diaz of the University of the Philippines (UP) also welcomed the memorandum but stressed their league is in no rush to resume its shuttered season.

The DOH released Memorandum Circular No. 2021-0011 last February 18 detailing health and safety protocols for sports leagues, including amateur groups including the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League which targets a March 1 resumption of its postponed season and the Philippine Superliga which will hold a three-day beach volleyball tournament starting Friday.

Both leagues will hold their games in a bubble environment in Subic.

Calvo said that although the NCAA and UAAP remain under the Commission on Higher Education’s jurisdiction, he believes the DOH order would make their return easier this time.

“We are still in the jurisdiction of CHED and there’re still no face to face classes at the moment,” Calvo said. “But it’s like a benchmark and there will be a good domino effect on this development.

Diaz, on the other hand, said the UAAP board would discuss the memorandum.

“We haven’t discussed it yet in the UAAP, but personally I still don’t consider the environment safe for physical training for now,” he said. “In UP, we’re not rushing things to return to training because there’s no league yet.”

The UAAP canceled Season 83 because of the pandemic last year.

“It’s a welcome development, but UAAP is not on a rush to return,” he added.