AFTER a week of competitions, the DCAA Meet 2018 came to a close over the weekend with a new set of student-athletes who will don the city’s yellow and green colors as official Davao City delegates to the Davraa Meet 2019.
As the student-athletes and coaches prepare for their Davraa stint, so is the city of Davao. We have hosted Davraa 2018 last year. And again, we are hosting it for 2019. This is to safeguard that Palarong Pambansa 2019 will run as smoothly and as efficiently as possible since it is the first time that we will host the annual sports spectacle for grassroots sports development after the Davraa Meet 2019.
As part of the preparations, may the city consider making changes in its conduct by making this the first “Eco-Friendly’ Davraa and Palarong Pambansa and set a new standard for the succeeding hosting of these events. This is aligned with the city’s support for a better environment through various city ordinances and resolutions most recent is EO 29, Series of 2018 recognizing September as “Lunhaw Month”.
I was head coach of the Davra elementary boys basketball team that copped the bronze medal in the Palarong Pambansa 2011. I am quite familiar with the quartering for all delegates. Quartering can be one of the many learning areas where being “eco-friendly” student-athletes can be instilled.
The quartering can be an avenue for the organizers to explore and utilize for massive information dissemination about taking care of the environment. I can only imagine its impact on the student-athletes if it is regularly discussed to them. This is just one suggestion I am encouraging.
How else can we make the Davraa and Palarong Pambansa 2019 eco-friendly:
1. Encourage all participants to limit use of single use plastics in different quartering venues.
2. Encourage an “eco-kit” for each participant consisting of eating utensils and their own tumblers for use during games. (The city athletes can become examples with their own kits from the city government.)
3. Make “Clean as You Go” an essential value to be observed by everyone, from the student-athletes to the delegation officials in and out of the quarters.
These are not new suggestions. I have seen them implemented back in 2011. What we need now is a renewed commitment to see its implementation through. If we are able to start it with the Davraa 2019 and also in the Palarong Pambansa, we have not only produced a crop of eco-friendly sports ambassadors for future competitions, we have also helped in ensuring that there is a future for them.