POC-AASF: ‘PINAS HOST NG 2023 ASIAN AGE GROUP SWIMMING C’SHIP

PORMAL nang sinelyuhan ng  Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) at Asia Swimming Federation (AASF) ang kanilang tambalan para sa hosting ng bansa ng 11th Asian Age Group Swimming Championships na kakampay sa  world-class New Clark City (NCC) Aquatics Center sa Capas, Tarlac, sa  Nobyembre,2023.

Sina POC President Rep. Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino at AASF Secretary General Taha Sulaiman Al Kishry ay lumagda ng  ‘memorandum of agreement’ bilang punong-abala ng  bansa kahapon sa  Aquatics Center  sa seremonyang katuwang  din sina  Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) president at CEO Atty. Agnes VST Devenadera at Senior Vice President for Corporate Services Group Arrey Perez.

“I would like to thank the AASF for giving us the opportunity to host a big event like this,”wika ni  Tolentino . “It’s really hard to bid to host an international event like swimming.”

Mas pinili ng AASF ang Pilipinas keysa  Thailand at Vietnam  dahil sa pagiging world-class ng NCC facility.

Higit sa 1,400 kabataang swimmers mula 42 bansa sa Asia ang sasabak sa prestihiyosong kumpetisyon.

Ang naturang continental competition ay ikalawa sa major international event na idinaos sa naturang state -of -the- art venue matapos ang 30th Southeast Asian Games noong 2019 ,na isang   FINA-standard swimming at diving pools

“With this kind of venue [NCC], we are lucky to be chosen,” ani pa  Tolentino, pinuno din ng PhilCycling at alkalde ng  Tagaytay City. “We, the POC, BCDA and PSI [Philippine Swimming Inc.] will work together to achieve a successful hosting.”

Saksi sa makasaysayang seremonya sina AASF technical committee head Ibrahim Naddeh, POC legal chief Atty. Wharton Chan at Secretary-General Bones Floro gayundin   si MTD Philippines president Patrick Nicholas David.

“The facilities here are excellent from the warm up to the competition pool,” papuri naman ni Al Kishry. “There’s nothing you can ask for about the venue.”

Sinabi pa ni Al Kishry  na inaasahan niya ang pagdalo sa kaganapan ng matataas na opisyal mula  FINA, ang  world governing body sa swimming.

Ang paligsahan ay sesentro sa  swimming, diving, artistic [synchronized] at water polo, kabilang na ang kategorya sa boys and girls na ang pinakabata ay 11- anyos.

Ayon kay Perez ,ang iaang taon na preparasyon ay makatutulong sa  POC, BCDA at NCC para sa matagumpay na  hosting ng kampeonato. “It’s not easy to host an event like the Asian championships. It requires a year of preparation and dry runs to make it better,”ani  Perez.