DavNor sports activities continue despite the pandemic

By Jan Vincent Leuterio

DAVAO DEL NORTE, Feb. 11 (PIA) – The Provincial Sports and Youth Development Office (PSYDO) persisted to conduct its sports activities and competitions virtually in adjustment to the COVID19 pandemic.

During the Kapihan sa DavNor on February 10, 2021, Provincial Sports and Youth Development Office (PSYDO) Department Head, Giovanni Irong Gulanes, said that it was possible to conduct such competitions online.

“Pwede pa diay gihapon nga mag conduct ta ug training and competition, pero online na. Ang competitions? Murag di katuohan pero pwede diay gihapon (It was possible to conduct trainings and competitions virtually. Competitions? It was hard to believe but it was possible),” he said.

He explained that the nature of the competitions had to change in order to adapt to the pandemic.

For Sepak Takraw, Basketball, and Taekwondo, the participants would demonstrate on video their skills in ball control, freestyle dribbling, and speed kicking respectively, then a set of judges would vote to choose the winner based on their individual display of skills and talent.

“Karon naay umaabot, online nga dance sport. Walay pares, individual lang (Now there is an incoming online dance sport, no partners, just individually). So this pandemic really pushed us to be innovative,” he added.

In addition, Gulanes said that PSYDO is taking into consideration that some of its participants such as those from the far-flung areas may not have access to internet nor phones or gadgets that are able to record at a decent quality.

“Among staff sa PSYDO mu adto gyud didto, kami ang mu video nila. Ang sabot man gud pirmero unta ang ginikanan ang mu video unya ipadala diri pero dili diay in ana (Our staff at PSYDO will really go to these places to be the ones to record the participants on video. Originally, the parents were the ones who should do this and then just send the videos to us, but it’s no longer that way) but still we want to have an inclusive sport,” he said.

For the conduct of trainings, Gulanes said that with the help of the Provincial Sports Association, it is not a problem to find technical officials to serve as trainers and coaches.

“Kung naa tay gusto e tap, dali nalang kaayo kay natapok man ang mga maayong tao diha. Basketball, naa tay PBA player. Sa Volleyball, naa tay legend (If there’s someone we need to tap, it’s very easy because the experts are already there. For basketball, we have a PBA player, for volleyball we have a legend at it), to name a few,” he said. (Jan Vincent Leuterio/PIA-XI)