THE Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) announced the return of its grassroots programs Batang Pinoy and the Philippine National Games to be held simultaneously before the end of the year.
PSC on return of grassroots programs
PSC chairman Richard Bachmann said the two major events for kids and young athletes will be held from December 17 to 22 in Pasig City and Manila, respectively.
“We owe it to all the kids and the athletes to give them a good platform to perform in all sports. That’s one way the PSC can help, to give them that international-level of hosting from the logo to the branding,” said Bachmann during a presser at the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex over the weekend.
“We want to put that premium for our grassroots sports programs.”
The two PSC-organized sporting events will feature 20 disciplines, namely, archery, arnis, athletics, badminton, basketball 3x3, boxing, chess, cycling, dancesport, esports, gymnastics, karatedo, lawn tennis, sepak takraw, swimming, table tennis, taekwondo, beach volleyball, weightlifting, and wushu.
Like in previous editions of the PNG, competing athletes will be from ages 18 and above, while the Batang Pinoy will introduce a new age group of 17 years old and below. Specific sub-groupings of age will be on a per sport basis.
Bachmann, who was joined in the media briefing by newly appointed Executive Director Paulo Francisco Tatad, also unveiled the new logos for BP and PNG, focusing on the colors and traditional icons of the flag, while adding elements that highlight the essence of grassroots sports talents.
“Together with Chairman Bachmann, we will do our very best in the coming months and years to increase the participation of our youth in our grassroots sports programs like the BP and PNG, and improve our facilities and infrastructure for our athletes,” said Tatad, who officially started his tour of duty on August 1.
The PSC will be partnering with the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), Department of Education, Philippine Olympic Committee and 20 national sports associations.
The PNG was declared the country’s centerpiece sports program through Executive Order No. 163 in 1994, while the Batang Pinoy, formerly known as the Philippine Youth Games, was created through Executive Order No. 44 in 1998.
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