By Kristel Satumbaga
The Premier Volleyball League (PVL) targets at least one conference this year to make up for postponed tournaments brought by the coronavirus pandemic.
PVL organizer Sports Vision President Ricky Palou said Wednesday they hope to hold the Open Conference in September depending on the Inter-Agency Task Force for Management of Infectious Diseases (IATF) protocols for team sporting events.
“It will be difficult, but we are still studying the prospects of having a conference for this year. This is if the authorities allow us to stage it,” he said.
Palou said they needed to comply with the guidelines set by the authorities to ensure the safety of everybody.
League officials are in constant communication with teams regarding this plan, but Palou said 9 teams have already signified their interest to join: 2019 Open Conference champion Creamline, Choco Mucho, PetroGazz, Motolite, Perlas, BaliPure, Chef’s Classics, Army and Air Force.
Resumption of training and competition of team sports will depend on the decision of the IATF.
National sports association leaders from athletics, basketball, volleyball, football, rugby, gymnastics and karate met online recently to craft guidelines for a proposed one-month trial program for the athletes to resume training but nothing has been finalized yet.
At the moment, only swimming, tennis, badminton, golf, equestrian, skateboarding, running and biking are allowed to resume.
PVL is among the many affected leagues in the country due to the pandemic. Boasting some of the best volleyball players in the country like Alyssa Valdez, the league usually holds three conferences in a year.
