By KRISTEL SATUMBAGA
Long-time sports patron MILO has partnered with the Philippine Jump Rope Association (PJRA) and the Department of Education in promoting the sport of jump rope to the grassroots level through the “10 million skips challenge.”
The tripartite program will have 180,000 jump ropes to be distributed to 3,600 schools across the country for Grade 4 students and MAPEH teachers to assist in the challenge.
The idea is to encourage participants to skip rope and those on social media for the whole month of June using the hashtags #MILO10Mskips and #WorldMilkDay.
“Health and wellness has always been our priority so we are really committed to enrich the lives of Filipinos, especially the kids,”said Veronica Cruz, Senior Vice President of Nestle Philippines, during the Philippine Sportswriters Association Online Forum Tuesday, June 1.
The program will also have jump rope specialists from PJRA to train teachers and a virtual tournament that will be finalized soon.
MILO Sports Manager Lester Castillo said they chose the sport of jump rope due to its accessibility during the pandemic.
They also hope this program would popularize the sport to the grassroots level.
“With jump rope, you only need a small space to promote an active lifestyle. It is part of our continuous commitment to children to grow with sports,” Castillo said.
Through this program, DepEd Undersecretary Tonisito Umali hopes to integrate the sport in PE classes in the future.
“I think that’s the direction we want to take, make jump rope be part of the curriculum,” he said.
PJRA’s Rob Layco said the program would also benefit their association’s grassroots plans, with the sport having numerous international tournaments.
