Wednesday, September 05, 2007 ‘Milo Olympics not qualifying event for Cviraa’ By Marian C. Baring Sun.Star Staff Reporter
LOCAL organizers of the 12th Milo Little Olympics refuted a report that the multi-event sporting meet will be the qualifying contest for the Central Visayas Regional Athletic Association (Cviraa).
“It is confusing to the participants,” said organizer Ricky Ballesteros.
Ballesteros, who heads the staging of the Olympics set to open this weekend said that the Milo contest could not be the qualifying event because their rules will contradict that of the Cviraa, which is also the qualifying for the Palarong Pambansa.
In the effort to discover potential upstarts, Milo inserted this year new rules regarding the banning of athletes who have played in international events.
That rule virtually makes it impossible for Milo to be the qualifiers for Cviraa.
“Our new rule states that we will not be allowing athletes who have competed internationally to join. That is why we can’t be the basis for the Cviraa. The Cviraa and the Palarong Pambansa allow elite athletes to join their events,” Ballesteros said.
The report, not in Sun.Star, caused a stir among coaches who were concerned that their athletes who have competed in international events would be shut out of the Cviraa.
Banned
“A lot of athletes in Cebu City are preparing for the Cviraa and Palaro. If that is true (Milo being the qualifying event for the Cviraa), then what will happen to those athletes who are not allowed to participate in the Milo Little Olympics?
All their training will be put to waste. All of a sudden their dreams of competing in the Palarong Pambansa will just vanish in thin air,” swimming coach Tito Bonilla told Sun.Star Cebu.
Bonilla visited Sun.Star to raise his point regarding the issue.
Ballesteros clarified that the official qualifying event of the Cviraa is still the Cebu City Olympics. The winners will represent Cebu in the regional meet. The CVRAA winners will banner the region in the Palarong Pambansa, which is a nation wide multi-event meet and the highest level of competition among young school-based Filipino athletes.
“Milo Olympics is not the qualifying for Cviraa. In fact, the organizing committee of the Cviraa had already met,” Ballesteros said.
Ballesteros said that the Cebu City Olympics is slated after the Milo Olympics, which will be in two weekends.
