It will take sometime before the venues at the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex in Manila and the Philsports Complex in Pasig will be ready for national athletes to train there again.
For the meantime, the national track team is all set to go to the Narciso Ramos Sports Complex in Lingayen, Pangasinan to train for the 2019 Southeast Asian Games.
Philippine Athletics Track and Field Association chief Philip Ella Juico said this as the PATAFA is having difficulty looking for places in Metro Manila for national athletes to train in.
“We don’t have a venue to train. The Rizal Memorial Sports Complex has become (a) football (training area). But I understand it will be converted back to track and field,” said Juico.
Over the last two months, the Philippine Sports Commission has stepped up on its efforts to improve the facilities inside the athletes’ dormitories that are under its control.
Beddings, lockers, and shower rooms have been refurbished with the better facilities by the government sports agency at the Rizal Memorial, the Philsports Complex and in Baguio.
The improvements have been done in order for national athletes to have places to train and seek shelter.
Such changes took place and got fast-tracked following the death of wushu junior athlete Rastafari Daraliay at the athletes’ quarters in the wee hours of the morning last October.
Juico said they are thankful for the support of the provincial government of Pangasinan, behind Governor Amado Espino III as many national athletes are expected to train full time in Lingayen.