No sooner had the din of competition and merriment die at the conclusion of the 2006 sports fest when the echoes of what was in store for next year (2007) was being bruited about. According to organizers the bar had been raised again , but that they certainly hoped to better and improve the 2006 yardstick of success for 2007 . Plans were being formulated for a bigger and better festival the coming year. So, they were exhorting all to plan now to attend our Year 2007 "festevents". Their parting reminder: See you all next year
***
Well the 2007 Sports Festival is almost
upon us but alas it looks like there will be fewer sports activities this year
not more. The sports festival web site usually lists down
nine sports disciplines But it looks like the only sports competitions which
are sure of taking place are volleyball tennis and golf. Golf is
scheduled to be held at the Gauntlet Golf C,lub in Fredericksburg in Virginia. No other data are available
viz-a-viz day of tournament, participants, prizes, format and so forth.
Again making a big splash this year will
be the tennis tournament which has been streamlined to attune and make it more
relevant to present conditions. A tennis super body is now in place and a
super tournament is expected much to the delight of tennis diehards. This is a
result of recent developments that resulted in the unity and
cohesiveness of the different Filipino tennis groups in the Metro DC
area. Montgomery County based Danny Francia of the
Filipino American Tennis Association of Maryland (FATAM) has carried the
brunt of tennis activities . He he has now a powerful ally in Ed Tiong,
coordinator of the recently organized Fil-Am Tennis of North Virginia. They will co-chair the event.
Tentative schedule is June 23 at the Fairfax Racuet Indoor Club Details
will be announced later
Volleyball competitions will be held
simultaneously with the Family Picnic Day on June 24, 2007 at the Tucker Road
Sports complex in Fort Washington in Maryland where it had been traditionally
held except for a few years Volleyball has always been the backbone of
the sports fest . And since this is also a Family Picnic, there will be
music, entertainment, and games for the whole family. And of course, there will
be lots of delicious authentic Filipino foods, from the familiar to the exotic,
to satisfy any appetite. So the cheers of the crowd watching the volleyball
games will mingle with the noise of our kababayans making merry which adds to
the fiesta atmosphere. Perhaps the quality of the sports fest will
make up for the fewer sports competitions which will lend credence to last
year’s parting words: see you next year.
***
Philippine Sports Commission (PSC)
chairman William “Butch” Ramirez flew down to his hometown in Davao City to celebrate his 57th birthday
with some 70 teenagers of Our Lady of Fatima Church’s Sagip Kinabuhi Program
(SKP) recently. Ramirez promised to help
the parish in sports and livelihood projects, particularly those that will
cater to the welfare of the youth.
The PSC chairman had a thanksgiving
Mass officiated by parish priest Bong Gonzaga who thanked Ramirez for his
continued support to the parish over the past years. After the Mass, an SKP
member thanked Ramirez in behalf of the group. He thanked Ramirez “for
giving us sports gears like rubber shoes and jerseys and also thanked him
for celebrating his birthday with them. ‘”We will always remember
your goodness," he said in Cebuano.
Ramirez, countered by saying “The
good Lord has blessed me so much and I and my wife are happy to share this with
you. I encourage you to always be thankful for the blessings in life. Dream on.
Never give up. Believe in God and believe in yourself. Be patient to reach your
dreams.” Go into sports he exhorted the young people and engage in fruitful
undertakings.
We can understand Ramirez’ desire
to help develop the youth. He has been a faculty member at the Holy
Cross College of Davao where he was active in the sports department. My
wife Nancy was the School Nurse then, although I knew him during the Davao
City Inter Faculty Basketball Tournament of the DCAA where I was
connected with the Sports program of another school. More power to
you Butch!
***
3 Pinays Set Two World Records in
Everest Climb
The first Filipino women to reach the
summit of Mount
Everest set a
second world record by becoming the first women to traverse the two
main routes to the world’s highest mountain. The three Filipinas, Noelle
Wenceslao, Carina Dayondon and Janet Belarmino set two world records in Everest
history. They are the first Filipinas and first ASEAN women to reach the summit
of Mount Everest and the first women to cross the
mountain from the north route in Tibet to the south route in Nepal.
Crossing the mountain from Tibet to Nepal has only been done by a handful of
mountaineers - all of them men. The traverse posed a bigger challenge for the
women as they passed an unfamiliar route during the descent. “Kaya ng
Pinay iyan” Mabuhay!"
***
Pacquiao is Kayoed!
Somehow the phrase does not seem right.
After so many victories it seems uncomfortable to even think about
a Pacquiao loss. But he did lose. He got clobbered by a wisp of a girl.
Well of course it was in a totally different ring. The Political Ring. A
venue where he treads unfamiliar grounds. But to many it was a loss they
did not mind. In fact there was a collective sigh of relief when news
broke out that he did not make it. “Now he can concentrate again on
boxing” Politics can come again later.
Phone : 301-839-5375 *
Email: fastbreakpoints@aol.com
The Mail RSS Feed.
