SKP keeps focus on welfare of athletes

Samahang Kickboxing ng Pilipinas (SKP) lost a lot of opportunities to send its athletes to tournaments abroad but that is the least of the leadership’s worries.

“The NSA (National Sports Association) right now is practically paralyzed since there’s a health crisis,” secretary general Wharton Chan told the Inquirer on Friday.

“But our topmost concern right now is providing all kinds of support to our athletes,” he added.

Chan said the allowan­ces for this month has already been approved by the Philippine Sports Commission, but he knows that a stable financial source is but one of many necessities people need to navigate an uncertain time.

“Like most sports people, we’ve set up an online channel to check up on each other,” Chan said.

Chan said the SKP, in close coordination with its coaches, are in constant communication with its athletes—Jerry Olsim, Gina Iniong, Renalyn Dacquel, Jomar Balangui and Karol Maguide, among others.

“We can absorb even a year’s worth of delays if that means nobody’s going to get sick,” he added.

Before the COVID-19 ground sporting meets to a halt, the SKP was looking forward to a promising year after a commendable performance in the Southeast Asian Games here last year.

“Our athletes are supposed to compete in Austria this month. We were also supposed to have the Singapore Open by end of June, and a Korean meet in October,” Chan said.

“We were also readying for monthly conventions,” he added. “But even if they lift the community lockdowns, I doubt we could mount big gatherings.”

The Philippine Olympic Committee only recognized the SKP in December 2018, but the crop of national athletes were able to rack up six medals in the SEA Games to finish second to Vietnam.