SportPhil hosts ‘coping webinars’

Geraldine Bernardo can still remember how much the trail of devastation left by Supertyphoon “Yolanda” shook her core six years ago.

During that time, Bernardo, through her nonprofit organization Sport Management Council of the Philippines (SportPhil), led a series of workshops to help physical education (PE) teachers and coaches utilize sport as a tool for psychosocial relief and community engagement.

Those memories still tug at the heartstrings, she told the Inquirer.

Somehow, the flashbacks are even more vivid—especially now that that the country is in the middle of another crisis. The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has shut virtually every sporting venue, training facility; and has thrust athletes around the world into isolation.

True to SportPhil’s mission of “developing support systems that contribute to fitness, wellness, and sport,” Bernardo has been hosting webinars to help people cope with the pandemic.

The “Sports Matters Speaker Series” has since examined athletes’ mental health, various approa­ches in training, community health and wellness and the challenges and opportunities teaching PE and school sports amid the pandemic.

Bernardo was a member of the 2005 dragon boat team that won double gold in the Southeast Asian Games here and then years later, served as the Philippines Sports Commission as its first-ever female executive director.

“I do not have all the ideas. I’m just the biggest fan of athletes, selfless coaches, passionate sports professionals,” she said.

All of SportPhil’s previous webcasts remain accessible through its Facebook page (fb.com/SportPhil). INQ