ni VA - @Sports | September 10, 2020
Nakatakdang bumuo ang Commission on Higher Education (CHED)ng isang technical working group (TWG) na magtatakda ng mga kinakailangang guidelines para sa pagbabalik ng mga college student-athletes sa pagsasanay at mamonitor na rin ang kalagayan ng mga ito upang maiwasang tamaan ng COVID-19 at magkahawahan.
Ang grupo ayon kay CHED chairman Prospero De Vera ay kabibilangan ng mga kinatawan ng CHED, Games and Amusement Board, Philippine Sports Commission, Department of Health at mga representatives ng mga collegiate leagues. “We will start with a smaller group of leagues involving schools so that we have a manageable number to start the TWG. And after starting with the smaller group, we will expand the consultation to cover the other leagues being participated in by schools all over the country,” pahayag ni De Vera sa idinaos na online press conference noong Lunes ng hapon.
“I was told that there were many Manila-based leagues and many provincial leagues that have been organized over the past years. I have a list but it’s rather long so we will cascade the discussions with them.”
Ang mga guidelines na itatakda ng technical working group sa pangunguna ni CHED executive director Cindy Jaro ay isusunod sa PSC-GAB-DOH Joint Administrative Order para sa pagbabalik ensayo ng mga professional leagues.
“Dati, ang JAO limits training for only pro sports. Ang CHED is not part of JAO because we don’t deal with pro sports. We got into the picture because of violations that included athletes who are students under CHED,” wika ni De Vera na tinutukoy ang mga naging quarantine violations ng University of Santo Tomas at National University.
Puwede nang magplano ng kanilang pagbabalik ensayo ang mga varsity teams matapos itong aprubahan noong Lunes ng Inter-Agency Task Force’s (IATF).Pero hindi pa sila agad na makakapag-umpisa dahil kailangan pa nilang hintayin ang guidelines.
Balak ng CHED na tapusin ang pagbuo ng mga guidelines sa loob ng susunod na dalawa hanggang tatlong linggo. “We intend to start the TWG hopefully by next week. We’re putting a timetable of about two weeks to complete this."
Kaugnay nito, aminado ang CHED na maraming hamon na kakaharapin ang technical working group sa gagawing pagbalangkas ng mga guidelines para sa pagbabalik ensayo ng mga college student-athletes.
Una na rito kung paano nilang hahawakan at pamamahalaan ang napakaraming mga collegiate sports leagues sa bansa. “I was told that there were many Manila-based leagues and many provincial leagues that have been organized over the past years. I have a list but it’s rather long.”
Sa Metro Manila na lang ay mayroong 12 collegiate leagues nangunguna na rito ang University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) at National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)habang may humigit-kumulang sa 10 provincial leagues na pinangungunahan ng Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation,Inc. o CESAFI. “We have to start with the smaller group, the technical working group, and then later on as these were crafted, then we will cascade this to the other leagues all over the country,” ani De Vera. “That’s the first challenge.”
Kabilang din sa hamon ay ang iba't-ibang events na mayroon ang mga nasabing liga na maaaring mangailangan ng sarili nitong guidelines na kailangang sundin ng mga student-athletes. “Well the IATF said all collegiate athletes training, so it will include all types of sports in universities and colleges,” wika ni De Vera. “There are different sports within the leagues. So there might be specific concerns or specific things per sports discipline,” dagdag nito.
At sa suliraning ito, inaasahan ng CHED ang tulong mula sa PSC. “They are the ones who have the expertise to not only cascade it to the other leagues but within the leagues, pag-usapan ‘yung different sports on how they will convert these guidelines into specific trainings they will do per discipline.”
Maliban dito, nangako namang susuporta at tutulong sa pagbuo ng protocols ang ilang mga professional sport leagues na Philippine Basketball Association, Chooks-to-Go Pilipinas 3x3 at Philippine Football League.