While venues remain unavailable, members of the national athletics team will have to wait until May before they can shift to physical training.
By then, the vaccines which can help prevent the spread of COVID-19, may be available and the Interagency Task Force for the Management of Infectious Diseases would have given its green light for numerous sports activities to finally resume.
Officials of the Philippine Athletics Track and Field Association said this after their plans to go into early preparation for the Southeast Asian Games got pushed back by two more months.
“Unfortunately, there’s none (venues) available. Eventually, if the government agencies and the venue owners will allow it, they (athletes) will probably end up at the New Clark Clark City, sometime in May,” said PATAFA secretary-general Terry Capistrano.
Venues that are under the management of government agencies like the Philippine Sports Commission have not been available since the beginning of the lockdown in March last year.
This includes the Philsports Complex in Pasig and the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex in Manila. Both venues are still being used as quarantine facilities for COVID-19 patients.
There are plans for national athletes to take part in the rescheduled 2020 Ayala Philippine Athletics Championships in the same venue from March 19 to 21.
But the national meet is also being considered to be held in September.
“The training of these athletes will then continue until they depart for the SEA Games,” added Capistrano.