THE Philippines can avail of any form of assistance in its training programs for its national athletes from Japan.
This became possible after Japanese sports officials initially agreed to help train Filipino athletes in judo and karatedo.
Philippine Olympic Committee secretary general Steve Hontiveros said he finalized a deal on behalf of the POC following talks with officials of the Japan Olympic Committee.
POC president Jose “Peping” Cojuangco said a memorandum of understanding with the JOC following a meeting with JOC president Tsunekazu Takeda during the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics in August last year.
“We already had an understanding during the Rio Games. These are just the specifics,” said Cojuangco.
Cojuangco said the assistance from Japan will be twofold. The first will be in the form of equipment through the Japan Information and Cultural Center.
Hontiveros met with officials of the JOC in Tokyo when he went Japan for the 2017 Asian Winter Games.
“They want these two sports for the meantime, karatedo and judo, That’s their specialty,” said Hontiveros.
He said he will meet with officials of the Philippine Karatedo Federation and with the Philippine Judo Federations to discuss the specifics of their assistance to them.
The second form of assistance is manpower. The Philippines can send a coach to Japan or a coach can come to Manila. They can even send a technical official to train people here.
So far, second hand straw mats from Japan were turned over last month to the PJF.
The tatami mats, which are very important when judo clubs organize competitions and in their efforts to train young athletes who are seeking to improve their craft.
Numbering around 142, these were turned over by the Japanese embassy to officials of the PJF.
The mats, which will distributed to clubs in Metro Manila and surrounding provinces, are important for judokas for safety reasons.