We need to develop the whole sports sector

The move of the Cebu City government to establish a skateboarding park is good. That it is set to break ground on a P12-million facility next month is just a testimony that it is serious in developing the sport from the grassroots.

The design has already finished and the groundbreaking of the project was supposed to have commenced already, according to Councilor Eugenio Gabuya Jr., chairman of the City Council committee on games, amusement, and sports.

A rink with street course, flat course for beginners, half-pipe, bowl, pump track, and minigrandstand will be part of the park. Funding will come from Mayor Tomas Osmeña’s sister, Maria Victoria, who earlier donated P5 million for its construction, and from the city government, which will shell out the remaining P7 million.

It was proposed to be constructed at the South Road Properties but City Hall decided to use a 4,000-square meter lot it owns at the back of Fort San Pedro at the Plaza Independencia, which is more accessible.

We understand that the establishment of the park stemmed from a strong clamor to provide a training venue for skateboarders following the success of Margielyn Didal, who copped the gold in the recent Asian Games held in Indonesia.

However, it would be better if the city government could also develop modern venues for other sporting disciplines to give opportunity to others in other fields who are motivated by Didal’s achievement for them to have a chance to shine.

Just because Didal has brought honors to the city and to all Cebuanos does not really mean we need to treat skateboarding as a special sport where we have high chance of producing future world champions.

Cebuanos, being sports-loving people, have long been a major contributor to the country’s involvement in international competitions. To enhance Cebuanos’ level of participation, there should be a need to develop the local sports sector if we want our athletes in every discipline to become truly competitive globally.