Saturday, March 31, 2007 GCSOC can’t fully shoulder athletes’ tickets By Marian C. Baring Sun.Star Staff Reporter
“I DON'T know how to tell them.”
This was a coach’s lament upon learning that that Greater Cebu Sports Organizing Committee (GCSOC) retracted its earlier promise to fully shoulder the airfare of its 50-man strong team, competing in the Arafura Games in Darwin, Australia.
“We wake up at 6:30 in the morning, we train until 8 in the evening. I pushed them hard. We worked so hard and everything will just go down the drain,” said the coach, who requested not be identified.
The coach said she has been pressuring her wards to work doubly hard so they can put up a good show, and prove that they are worthy of representing Cebu for free.
Instead of an all expense paid trip, GCSOC has diminished its support to just $200 or more or less P10,000 each participant. “At this point in time, it will be hard for us to raise the lacking amount. So dili na gyud mi makakuyog ani,” she added.
GCSOC chairperson Jonathan Guardo said they were not able to raise the needed amount for the trip.
“We tried to come up with the needed budget, but we came up short. We were not able to raise the needed funds,” said Guardo.
Earlier on, Guardo had promised to shoulder the trip of 25 athletes from the prioritized events that they pinpointed.
“We will still give them a counterpart, so that they only have to raise a minimal amount of money,” said Guardo.
Because of this, a few members of the delegation now feel that their participation may have to take a back seat.
“Mahugno gyud akong mga players,” the coach said, who said that she has no idea on how to break the news to her two athletes.
“It would have been better if we were not expecting it. But we did and worse, we prepared hard for it,” the coach said.
The coaches were meeting with GCSOC executive director Allan Torreviilas at press time last night.
