AFTER the crafting of the Baguio City Sports Code in March 2021, some are still wondering what comes next.
For nearly two years, the city council made sure the measure gets passed to provide more opportunities for growth and further enhance better sports promotion and development for athletes, coaches, and sports enthusiasts.
The formulation of the city’s sports code will also pave the way for the creation of the city sports council with the mayor as chair and the committee on sports chair at the city council as co-chairman, the city administrator as the action officer, and the sports and recreation division head as the secretary; and, members that come from different city government offices, non-government associations, and sports associations, including the media.
The council will also serve as a recommending body of the city on matters concerning sports and recreation, while also tasked to address concerns in marketing, promotions, sports tourism, media, athletes with disabilities, sports medicine, sports infrastructure and facilities, and barangay sports, among others.
Under the sports code, the city will now register all athletes, trainers, coaches, and local sports associations (LSAs) with the City Sports Council. Only those registered will be allowed to represent the city in any sports events and are eligible for incentives and other forms of assistance from the city.
The council may assist the LSAs in their accreditation to their respective National Sports Associations by issuing an endorsement.
But with the sports code now in place, is the city not yet moving towards the creation of a sports council?
The city sports and recreation division, which serves as the secretariat of the council, has yet to call for a meeting prior to the creation of the sports council.
SK president and Councilor Levy Orcales has been urging the city sports division through Mayor Benjamin Magalong and City Administrator Boni Dela Pena to convene the different stakeholders in sports for the creation of the council.
Orcales said the meeting will also discuss the long-term plan of the city when it comes to sports and on what things need to be done, not only in training athletes but also in the management of facilities among others.
But it has to be the call of the city sports office, according to Orcales, since it is their mandate.
While the formulation of the sports code of the city may have opened opportunities for Baguio’s aspiring athletes, it might have opened a Pandora’s box of problems since the Summer Capital has yet to really come up with a long-term sports program aligned with the code.
Athletes, coaches, and other sports stakeholders are raring to go all in and support the sports council because it will be them who will benefit.
The question now, however, is when do we start the ball rolling for the council?
Hope it won’t take decades.
