EVEN though it would miss out its campaign in the 31st Southeast Asian Games, the Pilipinas Obstacle Sports Federation (POSF) has drawn up a heavy schedule for its gritty athletes this 2022.
Philippine Obstacle Sports Federation schedule
A series of programs and competitions are lined up for the five-year-old federation recognized by the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) for the rest of the year in making up for its non-inclusion in the calendar of events of the Hanoi SEA Games.
First on tap will be the official attempts of Kevin Pascua and Rochelle Suarez to put their names on the Guinness World Records (GWR) should they surpass their standing records at the Arcovia in Pasig City on April 9 and 10.
Pascua currently holds the men’s record of 29.92 seconds in the 100m obstacle course, and Suarez the women’s mark of 49.70 seconds. If successful, the two gold medalists in the 2019 SEA Games will land in the GWR books.
Pascua and Suarez were part of the Philippine obstacle course team that swept all six gold medals at stake in the 2019 SEA Games here as it did its share in helping the country win the overall championship for the second time.
“There’s a very good chance they will make it. That’s why this is a very important event for us. It will be another milestone for us,” said POSF chief Al Agra, also president of the Asian OCR (Obstacle Course Racing) and member of the World OCR.
The POSF will also stage the Ninja and Track Oval events at the Obstacle Sports Factory in Makati on March 4 to 6. At stake are slots to the Ultimate Ninja Athletics Association World Championships in Las Vegas in July.
Currently, there are 58 OCR gyms in 21 countries holding their own qualifying events for the Las Vegas meet.
Other events on tap are Altitude OCR in Mount Pulag in the Cordilleras from March 25 to 27, with the winners earning once-in-a-lifetime tickets to the World Championships in Mt. Everest in Nepal in November and the World Finals in Mount Toubkal in Morocco in August.
Then on May 14 and 15, the OCR 400m and OCR 800m races will be held at the Vermosa Sports Hub in Imus, Cavite, with the winners advancing to the World Championships in Moscow, Russia in August, the OSF Asian Championship in Bahrain in November, and the OSF AP Southeast Asian Championships in Malaysia in October.
“It’s a very busy schedule for us but that’s what keeps us going,” said Agra, who is also chairman of the Philippine Reclamation Authority and legal counsel of the POC.
The POSF is also reaching out by putting up obstacle boxes in at least 15 colleges and universities in Baguio, Cebu, Zamboanga, Iligan and Metro Manila as well as the Philippine Military Academy grounds.
Agra said as part of its commitment to the World OCR, the POSF has helped develop obstacle courses in Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Indonesia, Kuwait Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.
Despite its non-inclusion in the SEA Games, the sport is hoping for inclusion in future editions, even in the Asian Games and the Olympics.
“We’re looking at the 2028 Olympics,” said Agra.
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