FIFTEEN municipalities with more or less 5,000 volunteer sports officials are currently involved in the 1st Developmental League Program, which was launched by the Iloilo Provincial Government on Tuesday, May 23
Dr. Raymundo Lapating, executive director of the Center for Sports and Physical Fitness, said that the program is focused on grassroot sports to cultivate excellence and discover new talents in athletics, badminton, basketball, chess, football, lawn tennis, table tennis, volleyball, softball, swimming, taekwondo and arnis.
The program starts with the creation of barangay or municipal sports league, formation of training teams by municipality, inter-training center competitions until it reaches the Provincial Summer Developmental League.
Lapating said that the program will give priority to the welfare of athletes, who can either be in school or out of school youth, and will strictly be based on the child’s growth and development.
“The basic philosophy and policy behind this is – athletes first, winning second. Coaches and key officials will be held responsible for the behavior and safety of the athletes,” he said.
He also added that they inverted the pyramid when they implemented a policy of giving 80 percent of the incentives to the athletes and only 20 percent goes to the officiating officials.
This is supported by the Department of Education, Commission on Higher Education, Technical Education and Skills Development Authority, Department of Interior and Local Government, Philippine Sports Commission, and private corporations. (PR)