Limpag: Sports for politics
WHEN you edit stories long enough you get to get a read of a story while you read them. Your experience as a beat reporter tells you where the story is headed, why it’s headed that way and the things left unsaid.
I must have scoffed at least 10 times while editing the story on the Cebu City Sports Commission’s One City, One Dream, a barangay level tournament that is nothing more than using sports to gain votes. The first sign was when I read Yayoy Alcoseba’s name in the story, the second--and this is where I scoffed the loudest--when I read the target “audience.” They got everything covered, the new voters, the fathers and the mothers. An 18-25 basketball tournament for new voters, over 45 basketball for dads and zumba for moms.
Yes sir, this is campaigning disguised as sports.
Even their rationale is quite a stretch. They want to discover new talents. That’s why they won’t allow varsity or former varsity players in their tournament. But every coach who’s worth his uniform knows that you discover new gems on the rough before voting age, not when they’re eligible to vote.
Make no mistake about it, this is the powers-at-be at City Hall’s way of using sports to campaign for their bets.
But naive I am also not. I’ve always wanted the City to start a program that will gather the best athletes of the barangays to compete against each other. This is an untapped aspect of LGU sports that somehow no official seems to understand. If this is the way to start one, so be it.
At least, it’s better than the practice of donating a few basketball rings, some sets of uniforms and calling it grassroots sports development.
The One City, One Dream isn’t grassroots sports development. Any program that’s targeted at those of voting age isn’t. But this could be a start. Yes, it’s a use of government resources to campaign but at least it’s not as expensive as the Malasakit Programs.
Being an election year, the barangays, of course, will support One City, One Dream. The councilors and wannabe councilors will be there but I hope next year this will change. If they truly want to discover gems in the rough, hold the One City, One Dream meet again but forget basketball for the voting age
Heck, forget volleyball too. Hold the meet again but this time, focus on track and field for the 14 under, not those of voting age.
Why athletics? It’s simple, basketball, football, volleyball, swimming or what have you takes certain skills. Those who learned it under a structured program have the advantage over those who didn’t. Rare are the rough gems in these sports, they have been marked a long time ago.
But in athletics, it’s different. Anyone--formal training or not--can run, jump or throw things. Athletics is all about running, jumping and throwing.
Anyone with that innate talent, despite the lack of training, will be discovered given the chance. And what’s best, there are scholarships for athletics.
So I hope this political tournament will become a genuine sports program next year.