Finish with a medal and be reimbursed, officials say

Athletes feeling competent enough of a podium finish but don’t meet the primary criteria for selection to the Philippine delegation can still wear the national colors in the coming Southeast Asian (SEA) Games as long as they pay for their trips.

And reimbursement of all of their expenses depend only on one thing: Living up to that promise of finishing with a medal.

Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) president Abraham Tolentino and Team Philippines chef de mission Ramon Fernandez have agreed to accommodate such athletes subject to the approval of the POC-PSC (Philippine Sports Commission) Vietnam SEA Games Task Force. “We have set up a second criteria where the NSAs (national sports associations) will have to find a way to fund athletes who were not included in the initial criteria,’’ said Fernandez, who also functions as PSC commissioner.

Two categories

Based on the Category A criteria, all 2019 SEA Games medalists from the 38 sports calendared in the Hanoi, Vietnam Games on Nov. 21-Dec. 2 already have spots on the Team Philippine roster. Category B, meanwhile, will make room for promising and developmental athletes who can contribute to the medal trove based on the recommendation and wisdom of their respective NSAs.

“These athletes will be properly screened by the POC. We want to make sure that they will not go to Hanoi for a vacation,’’ said Tolentino.

Fernandez assured that NSAs and self-funded participants will be reimbursed and given incentives when their athletes win medals. INQ