The Narciso Ramos Sports Complex in Lingayen, Pangasinan will host the training of the Philippine national athletics team getting ready for the 2019 Southeast Asian Games.
Philippine Athletic Track and Field Association president Philip Ella Juico said this as they rolled out their plans for 2019.
The support of the provincial government of Pangasinan, behind Governor Amado Espino III, will help make this possible.
“The national team has plans of preparing for the SEA Games slowly at the Narciso Ramos Sports Complex in Lingayen, Pangasinan with the support of the provincial government, headed by Governor Amado Espino III. We need at least a one-year period of continuity and stability,” said Juico.
The PATAFA chief said they have moved the training venues of the national team elsewhere after the Philippine Sports Commission closed down the athletes’ quarters and track ovals in Baguio, Philsports in Pasig and the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex for their long overdue rehabilitation.
“If all or most of these ingredients to the winning formula are available to PATAFA, there should be greater chances of our equalling or even surpassing the record 13-gold medal haul in the 1983 SEA Games,” added Juico.
The national team, led by Fil-heritage athletes Eric Cray, Trenten Beram, Kristina Knott, Carter Lilly and Natalie Uy, is coming off a tough campaign in the recent 2018 Asian Games in Palembang, Indonesia.
In the face of strong opposition from world powerhouses like China, Japan, Korea and Qatar, the Philippines failed to win a single medal, but Juico is positive of his athletes’ performances.
“The Philippine team performed remarkably well despite the usual limited resources available for sports both from government and the private sector. PATAFA hopes to build on these gains as we move on to host the 2019 SEA Games,” said Juico.
He said the preparation for the games will need members of the national team to be in shape and competitive as they will have to join a series of national and international meets.
This includes the national championship and the Southeast Asian Youth Championships in the city of Ilagan, Isabela in March 2019.
Then, there’s the Asian Championships in April 2019 in Doha, Qatar, followed by the world relays and the World Championships in Doha in September, 2019.
“All these tough competitions are preparations for the 2019 SEA Games where our athletes will be performing before the huge home crowd,” said Juico.
Last year, the national team got a boost in their preparations for the Asian Games after it established a training camp at Ayala Corporation’s Vermosa Sports Hub in Imus, Cavite and got an athletes’ quarters at a nearby resort.