BORACAY HOSTS ASIAN GAMES CENTENNIAL FESTIVAL
By Eddie Alinea
PhilBoxing.com
Sat, 06 Apr 2013
MANILA (PNA) -- The long-overdue recognition to the men and women who brought honors to the country and the Filipino in the field of sports the past 100 years may yet be realized during the coming Asian Games Centennial Festival on November 26-29 at the world-famous Boracay Island here in the Philippines.
Robert ?Dodot? Jaworski Jr., executive director of the Festival revealed in Friday?s SCOOP session at the Kamayan Restaurant-Padre Faura that plans are afoot to include a separate Centennial Awards Night during the Festival, which will commemorate the 100th year anniversary of the Far Eastern Olympic Games, acknowledged as the forerunner of the now Asian Games.
Plan is to name 100 great Filipino athletes, who gifted the country honors in their respective fields in the different sports capital of the world since the Far Eastern Games besides etching the Philippines and the name Filipino in the world sports map.
?Since the Festival is in celebration of the 100th year of the Philippines? admission to the international sporting community and the centennial of Asian sports as well, we thought of taking advantage of the celebration to acknowledge the contribution of our own countrymen to the growth of sports in this country and the region,? Dodot, eldest son of basketball legend and former Sen. Robert ?Sonny? Jaworski Sr. disclosed during the forum, sponsored by AKTV and FILA.
?It would have been more ideal to give recognition to all Asian athletes who excelled in the world competitions as the Olympic Games and world championships, but that?s for OCA to decide,? Jaworski said. ?But on our side, we?ll do it in a separate night, not necessarily during the three-day Festival.?
The younger Jaworski, a basketball star during his amateur days at Ateneo and Ginebra San Miguel in the professional PBA, was appointed by the Philippine Olympic Committee to handle the Centennial Festival affair.
He said he will submit the idea to the POC executive committee in one of its next meetings.
The project of giving recognition to past and present sports heroes was actually first hatched by the Sports Communicators Organization of the Philippines in 2011, which actually was the 100th year of sports in the country following the establishment of the now defunct Philippine Amateur Athletic Federation in 1911. It was aborted though due numerous unavoidable circumstances.
?We want to revive the project this time because of its timeliness, this year being the centennial of the Philippines? entry into the realm of international sporting scene following the founding of the Far Eastern Olympic Games in 1913,? Dodot explained. ?The fact that our country was chosen by OCA (Olympic Council of Asia) as host of the celebration made this yea?s occasion more significant.?
?For those uninitiated, the first edition of the Far Eastern Games was held here in Manila at the Carnival Grounds, the exact place where the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex is situated giving the coming Festival historical value,? Jaworski, husband MIkee Cojuangco-Jaworski, daughter of POC president Jose ?Peping?Cojuangco and 2002 Asian Games gold medalist in equestrian, revealed.
Jaworski clarified though that the main highlight of the Festival will be the 32nd General Assembly of the OCA to be presided over by its Kuwaiti president Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad Al-Sabah who visited Manila for the launching of the project last month.
All the 45 member nations of OCA will be represented at the meeting as well as 160 affiliate National Olympic Committees NOCs) of the Association of the National Olympic Committees (ANOC), making the event the biggest sports assembly hosted by the country.
?There has been no other event in the history of Philippine that has been attended by delegates and world leaders representing 204 nations of the world,? the former Pasig City Congressman said. ?We expect from 12,000 to 15,000 people to attend the affair, including guests and tourists.?
?I have been coordinating closely and often with Boracay Mayor John Yap to ensure that no stone is unturned to make this big event a success to once more prove not only to the whole of Asia but the world as well how an international event is organized,? Jaworski told SCOOP members in the well-attended session.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Eddie Alinea.
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