Former Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) President Celso Dayrit has emphasized that national athletes are not only sports heroes but are also the country’s frontliners in various battlefronts.
So Dayrit believes elite athletes like pole vaulter EJ Obiena and gymnast Carlo Yulo should be given special arrangements to continue training in their respective sports.
Obiena and Yulo are now in deep training in hard-hit Covid-19 countries of Italy and Japan, respectively.
“The Philippine Olympic Committee and the Philippine Sports Commission in consultation with the concerned National Sports Associations must therefore plot out plans for the approval of the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) which is in charge of coordinating our response to the pandemic,” said Dayrit.
Among the steps to be taken are the following:
‒ Identify and select sports whose athletes could train individually observing all required protocols of proper hygiene, no body contact (physical distancing), and daily temperature screening.
‒ Identify and select the deserving national athletes and coaches who will be allowed to undergo special training and physical conditioning on specific days, alternatively with other athletes to minimize crowding in the venues. They should be given special ‘IATF’ passes to commute to their training venues which are secured, regularly sanitized, and exclusively for their use.
‒ Guidelines must be formulated and approved to ensure safety while conversing during instructions/briefing, eating, and use of comfort and dressing rooms. Use of personal sports equipment and uniforms must be encouraged, and not shared with others.
