Participation in the coming Ayala Philippine Athletics Championships this December will be limited.
A select few athletes can come and join the yearly trackfest, which will be back following an almost two-year absence because of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
Philippine Athletics Track and Field Association president Philip Ella Juico, who recently received a new mandate to head the organization, said this with three weeks left before the meet is held on December 9 and 10 at the Philsports Complex in Pasig City.
“It’s going to be mainly for national athletes and those who have achieved the standards that we have indicated,” said Juico.
The staging of the National Open has been made possible after the Philippine Sports Commission board approved the resumption of training of selected national teams not earlier than January 10, 2022, at the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex in Manila, the Philsports Complex in Pasig City and the Baguio Training Camp in Baguio City.
This will be done after the PATAFA submitted and agreed to implement health and safety protocols during the competitions.
“There is going to be less people because the standards will be higher,” added Juico.
And because the audience onsite will be limited, the PATAFA will rely on livestreaming activities to make the competitions available to fans online.
Around a hundred athletes are expected to show up, including Marestella Torres-Sunang, who changed her mind on her plans to retire from active competition.
The 40-year-old Torres-Sunang will come out of a long layoff to take part in the women’s long jump.
Reigning Southeast Asian Games gold medallists Clinton Kingsley Bautista (men’s 100-meter hurdles), javelin thrower Melvin Calano and decathlete Aries Toledo are among those, who are expected to join.