THE NCAA is determined to resume the athletic competitions this year as it targets a March 5 opening for its Season 97.
NCAA Season 97 update
NCAA Management Committee (Mancom) chairman Dax Castellano of host St. Benilde shared to Spin.ph the league's desire to finally bring back the action, although it remains observant of the current COVID-19 situation in the country.
As of now, none of the 10 NCAA member-schools have pushed through with their bubble trainings, although the league has already written to the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) and the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases for the varsity teams to be allowed to practice.
"The NCAA applied for an exemption for contact sports training under Alert Level 3 to CHED, who shall endorse to IATF for approval. We are waiting for their approval to resume contact sports training," he said in a short message to Spin.ph.
All 10 NCAA member-schools have received clearances to train last December as CHED finally gave its approval on the health guidelines for the varsity team's trainings, but that was when Metro Manila was still under Alert Level 2.
Only fully vaccinated student-athletes can partake in the said camps.
The IATF has extended the Alert Level 3 in the capital until the end of January amidst the rise of COVID-19 cases brought upon by the Omicron variant.
NCAA Season 96, hosted by Letran, were held in a virtual setting with hybrid events in select sports being contested in the league's first year under its new broadcast partner GMA.
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