Cebu officials relish Seag stint

THE 30th Southeast Asian (SEA) Games experience was not just for the athletes as Cebu’s technical officials who were appointed as National Technical Officials (NTO) made the most out of their participation in the 11-nation biennial meet.

Some of the Cebuanos who served as NTOs in the SEA Games are Joel Juarez, Joel Baring, Jordan Paca, Armando Filosopo and Fritz Erediano.

Juarez and Erediano were assigned in the triathlon and duathlon competitions in Subic, Filosopo and Baring were at the cycling Individual Time Trial and Road Race in Tagaytay while Paca was in Subic for beach volleyball.

Except for Baring, who officiated in the 2005 SEA Games, all of them are first-timers.

Juarez and Paca both marveled at the detailed organizing and flow of their sporting events.

“We had our own designations, which makes the work simple for every member. There’s proper dissemination of tasks. You can work without pressure because everyone is easy to coordinate,” Juarez said, who was assigned in Subic for the triathlon and duathlon.

Paca, who leads the technical team for the Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation Inc. volleyball tournament, said he treasured the experience of having worked for international officials in the SEA Games.

“The tournament was smooth. It was really a once-in-a-lifetime experience. It’s an addition to my experience in volleyball,” stressed Paca.

Paca said the SEA Games is on a different level when it comes to the facilities and equipment compared to the local leagues. But the application of the rules and the tournament flow can be emulated by smaller leagues.

For veteran race director Baring, this year was a better one compared to 2005 SEA Games.

“You can really say that the cycling event of the SEA Games was world-class. It’s different from the 2005 SEA Games. From the organizing to the awarding, it was really smooth,” Baring said.

Baring, a fun run and cycling organizer, was one of the judges or the manual timers for the cyclists. The manual timers served as back up for the computerized timing system.

“It was a great experience. I was able to see Filipinos compete and also the contenders from other countries,” he said.

For Erediano, it was an opportunity and privilege to be part of the NTOs in triathlon.

“I felt happy, proud and grateful for the experience. It was a privilege given to me. It was an extraordinary experience to be part of history in sports,” he said.

“I have learned a lot from the contributed ideas and concerted effort from all the NTO and ITO in delivering an excellent performance without compromising safety and standards prescribed by ITU,” said Erediano.

The 2019 SEA Games started on Nov. 30 and will wrap up on Dec. 11 at the New Clark City Athletic Stadium.

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