Tankers, tracksters to enter NCC bubble

Members of the national swimming and athletics teams would be the first to enter the bubble training at the New Clark City (NCC) in preparation for the 31st Southeast Asian (SEA) Games this November.

Chief of mission Ramon Fernandez said they would prioritize the tankers and the swimmers and give them the green light as soon as the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) formally opens the sports facilities on 15 April.

Aside from being mandatory sports, swimming and athletics offer a lot of gold medals in the biennial meet.

In the previous SEA Games that the country hosted in 2019, swimming staked 38 gold medals while athletics had 49, 11 of which were pocketed by the Filipinos bannered by the star-studded crew of Eric Cray, Kristina Knott and EJ Obiena. “Regarding the possibility of using the facilities at NCC, the BCDA will have it ready by 15 April,” said Fernandez, also a commissioner of the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC). “Basically, swimming and athletics are the teams that will train at the NCC. Maybe, other sports would also be allowed to train there.”

Prior to Fernandez’s proposal, the Philippine Athletics Track and Field Association had already filed its request for a bubble camp at the NCC.

Basically, swimming and athletics are the teams that will train there.

But the proposal has yet to be finalized as it suffered a lot of delays due to the pandemic.

Still, Fernandez assured that the NCC is the most ideal and suitable training ground for national athletes heading into the biennial meet.

After all, BCDA president Vince Dizon already vowed to disinfect the facility and relocate the coronavirus patients with mild symptoms to a separate site in preparation for the arrival of the national athletes.

“Secretary Dizon will transfer the patients to other facilities. They might transfer them around March, I think.” Team Philippines is expected to send 560 athletes to compete in 38 out of 40 events in the prestigious regional tournament. Aside from the NCC, other PSC-managed facilities such as Rizal Memorial Sports Complex in Manila and PhilSports Complex in Pasig are also eyed as bubble training sites for other teams.