SO ANOTHER Palarong Pambansa will come and go.
The athletes will go home richer and wiser having survived not only the competition but the difficulties of travel and living away from comfort zones. There were reports of food poisoning and other difficulties but this is to be expected when throngs of humanity descend on a place. No matter how organized the games and infrastructure are, there will always be wrinkles and a spattering of bad experiences. We are, after all, human and can only try to minimize the difficulties of running huge events like the Palaro.
A few shinning names emerged like NCR swimmer 13-year-old Erin Castrillo who picked up seven gold medals. There was barefoot runner Angelica de Josef of Western Visayas, who felt more at home when her feet touched the tracks. It is hoped that these names will soon become fixtures in our sports pages as they continue to improve and find opportunities to represent the country in international competition.
Coaches from Manila schools have actually “invaded” Dumaguete in search of fresh talent to boost their lineups. The coaches will try to lure the raw talent with scholarships, playing opportunities and reasonable living quarters in the metropolis. With limited budgets, they will try to be as persuasive as possible to reinforce their rosters hit by graduation.
Let us hope that the stars and budding talents we discover in the Palaro do not remain undeveloped simply because of our sports rivalries and politics. National sports associations, many of which are torn apart by insufficient funding and leadership, may not be the places to hone the talents of the young athletes. The school programs may be the better alternatives for now since education should be the primary concern for the young athletes no matter how talented they may be.
We look forward to getting to know the athletes better in the future. Print and on-line media have been on their toes providing the results and inside stories of the games and the athletes. A multisports event is never an easy coverage because information delivery in a Palaro is not as sophisticated as in an Asian Games or an Olympics. Many budding sportswriters earn their spurs in the Palaro just as they would covering the cycling tours in the summer heat.
People’s Television Channel 4 also deserves a pat on the back by devoting resources and manpower to showcase the Palaro on a regular basis everyday in its news programs and in a daily recap. We hope that the network will be able to do what it used to do when full games, races and events could be covered. Letting more people know about their coverage through print ads or press releases could also spread the word.
Significant production changes have already taken place at the government station and we look forward to the network rejoining mainstream of TV sports coverage. Its current changes are being overshadowed by the more popular formats like telenovelas and reality shows and the natural tendency skepticism about a government network’s bias and treatment. But if there is one service that the government station can continue to provide regardless of political leadership, it’s a regular coverage of major national sports events like the Palaro.
So where do we go from here? Let’s not waste another Palaro by allowing our problems to snuff out the dreams of these young athletes and our country that’s eager to laud a new generation of sports heroes.