Tuesday, July 17, 2007 Ceva to address ‘expensive fees’ By Marian C. Baring Sun.Star Staff Reporter
HOPING to encourage more volleyball competitions in Cebu, the Cebu Volleyball Association (Ceva) is trying to do away with the reputation of it being an ‘expensive’ organization.
“We are willing to find ways to address the monetary issue. After all, we are for the advancement of the sport,” said Ceva president Glen Soco.
Ceva officials met last Saturday to discuss their upcoming events, especially the Governor Gwen Garcia Cup, which will officially open the Ceva volleyball season.
Soco, however, explained that Ceva, which is a non-profit organization, is only after the improvement of the standard of volleyball officiating in Cebu.
“We want to do away with the arbitrary style of officiating. We want to elevate the standard here in Cebu. And since Ceva does not have a lot of funds, that is why we charge a certain amount,” Soco added.
Soco also said they are always flexible and that charges could be adjusted.
Professionals
Ceva is composed of individuals who are already successful in the corporate world. They gather for the love of volleyball in their desire to help the sport.
This issue was raised after the Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation Inc. (Cesafi), the premier inter-school league of Cebu, decided to tap another person to handle this year’s volleyball event, citing Ceva’s rates as the reason.
“It was much too expensive for a school-based league,” said Cesafi commissioner Felix Tiukinhoy.
Surprise
This came as a surprise to Ceva as it expected to handle the Cesafi games. “We were just informed that they were looking for another tournament manager. There was a bit of misunderstanding last year. What is important is we were able to stage last year’s event well,” Soco added.
The misunderstanding, according to Tiukinhoy, is that last year, they appointed Soco to be tournament manager upon the unanimous recommendation from athletic directors.
“We were thinking along the line that these tournament directors helping out the league. It was too late for us to back out when it was Ceva that submitted their proposed rates,” Tiukinhoy added.
In comparison, Tiukinhoy said that while the other tournament managers only charged about P500 as allowance per play date, Ceva charged a five-figure amount as supervision fee for the entire tournament.
Cesafi will be announcing the volleyball tournament director today in time for the screening of players for basketball at the University of Southern Philippines Foundation.
