THE Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) will continue to pursue its programs aimed at discovering more talented young athletes at the grassroots level.

This was stressed by PSC Chairman Richard Bachman as he announced the long-awaited return of the Batang Pinoy and Philippine National Games later this year.

The country’s centerpiece grassroots sports programs for the youth will be held simultaneously in Pasig City and Manila on December 17- 22.

“We want to put that premium for our grassroots sports programs,” said Bachmann during the press conference at the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex in Vito Cruz, Manila.

“We owe it to all the kids and the athletes to give them a good platform to perform in all sports. That’s one way the PSC can help, to give them that international-level of hosting from the logo to the branding,” added Bachmann, who also introduced newly-appointed Executive Director Paulo Francisco Tatad during the press conference.

The two PSC-organized sporting events will feature 20 disciplines: archery, arnis, athletics, badminton, basketball 3×3, boxing, chess, cycling, dancesport, esports, gymnastics, karatedo, lawn tennis, sepak takraw, swimming, table tennis, taekwondo, beach volleyball, weightlifting and wushu.

Like in previous editions of the PNG, competing athletes will be from ages 18 and above.

The Batang Pinoy, on the other hand, will introduce a new age group of 17 years old and below.

Specific sub-groupings of age will be on a per sport basis.

Tatad, on the other hand, vowed to increase the participation of youth in grassroots sports programs of the PSC, like the Batang Pinoy and Philippine National Games.

“Together with Chairman Bachmann, we will do our very best in the coming months and years to increase the participation of our youth in our grassroots sports programs like the BP and PNG, and improve our facilities and infrastructure for our athletes,” said Tatad, who officially started his tour of duty on August 1.

To ensure the success of the events, the PSC will also be partnering with the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), Department of Education, Philippine Olympic Committee and 20 national sports associations.

The two PSC officials also unveiled the new logos for BP and PNG, focusing on the colors and traditional icons of the flag, while adding elements that highlight the essence of grassroots sports talents.

The PNG was declared the country’s centerpiece sports program through Executive Order No. 163 in 1994, while the Batang Pinoy, formerly known as the Philippine Youth Games, was created through Executive Order No. 44 in 1998.

With their return, these games are set to inspire a new generation of athletes and
further elevate Philippine sports.

AUTHOR PROFILE

Robert Andaya