Absence of PSC endorsement stalls Patafa training bubble

The plan of Philippine Athletics Track and Field Association (Patafa) to begin its training bubble hit a delay as the federation continues to wait for a go signal from the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC), the Inquirer learned on Thursday.

National athletes of Patafa were supposed to enter a bubble at New Clark City Stadium in Tarlac province last Wednesday but the association hasn’t been cleared yet to do so by the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF).

“We applied and submitted requirements last December,” Patafa marketing head Edward Kho said. “But step one [to getting an IATF permit] is an approval and endorsement from the PSC.”

“But that’s still pending,” Kho said.

The PSC also sits on an IATF body that oversees sports.

Among the athletes waiting to start training in the hopes of competing in Olympic qualifiers to earn a berth in the Tokyo Games are marathon champ Christine Hallasgo, javelin gold winner Melvin Calano and heptathlon queen Sarah Dequinan.

Kho, however, said Patafa president Philip Ella Juico was confident that the bubble can begin within two weeks.

In the meantime, Patafa plans to hold a national half-marathon virtual challenge next month.

Participants aged 18 to 59 years old can compete on their own time and venue—even on a treadmill—as long as they document their performance using different running apps.