The Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) recently launched a virtual physical fitness contest to promote physical and mental well-being among Filipino women during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The project named “Zumbarangay Pilipinas,” spearheaded PSC Commissioner Celia Kiram who is in charge of the agency’s Women in Sports programs, is an online solo dance workout competition promoting exercise.
“The PSC believes the current COVID-19 pandemic is now impacting on women’s mental and physical health and global studies find women and girls gained weight during the lockdown and research further shows even short term physical inactivity has long lasting repercussions,” said Kiram said in a press release.
“For this, we at the PSC mounted a campaign to encourage women and girls to rise up and shape up by way of solo exercising through dancing.”
The contest is open to all Filipino women who can come up with a dance workout for two minutes minimum.
The PSC has opened it to several categories—women frontliners, women’s open category, girls’ open, and LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender).
The winner per class will receive P30,000 while second and third places will get P20,000 and P10,000, respectively. Special prizes will also be given away.
“It is believed that the need to infuse fun in exercising is highly critical in order to ward off the brewing anxieties, and for some, the state of depression,” said Kiram. “But all in all, we just want to encourage Filipino women and girls to maintain an active lifestyle and boost health by regularly exercising even at home any time.” CELEST FLORES-COLINA