The VAAA

When I first heard of the concept of coming up with an inter-school league involving various schools in the Visayas, I believed that it was something that would really be worth looking forward to.

Some may say that obviously Cebu has the edge over the other Visayan areas owing to the fact that it is the center of education and trade in this part of the country, but then that is besides the point.

This Saturday, the Visayas Amateur Athletic Association (VAAA), which we only got read about the past few months, is becoming a reality as it formally opens at the Aznar Coliseum of Southwestern University (SWU).

Cebu City Councilor Raul 'Yayoy' Alcoseba, who is one of those actively pushing the league alongside Michel Lhuillier, our chairman in the Cebu City Sports Commission (CCSC), would finally heave a sigh of relief that their baby has been born.

This would not be a walk in the park though, but then with the cooperation of the members and a format that would take the games to various places around the Visayas, I believe the VAAA has a winning formula.

In mathematics, having the formula is just one of the many things that you need to reach the answer. There has to be the proper execution and using the givens to solve the unknowns.

That is what the VAAA is embarking and I sincerely wish the league all the best.

* * *

I have always believed that Cebu is a great hub for sports activities because of its central location, which makes it accessible from various points of the country.

As the center of the country's shipping industry, Cebu is a very convenient place to hold major sporting competitions if you want maximum participation from people around the Philippines.

The concept of the VAAA however is not really just centered on Cebu, but the entire Visayas region.

Games will be played using the home and away format, which would be good in terms of drawing fan support and most importantly would also develop community ties in the various schools. This is because the students, faculty and staff can see their team in action without having to go elsewhere when they host games.

I understand that while the VAAA will start out with basketball, the organizers are also looking at holding other events in the near future.

Although I am not much of a supporter of basketball since there are already too many spending money, time and effort doing that, I believe it is a catalyst that could help spur interest in sports.

* * *

I had an interesting conversation yesterday over cups of coffee with Mike Solon and Chad Songalia of RCTV Channel 36.

The cup of freshly brewed Colombian Supremo was just perfect and so was the soft chocolate ensaymada at Gloria Jean's, which was where we talked about sports and more.

As a believer in getting kids into sports, I was happy to know that my two friends also feel the same and that they'd like to see the sporting family grow.

As people in media, we also believe that we can do something to help, but then that would probably be the subject of another column.

One thing that should be addressed is probably educating parents about the right things to do when getting children into sports. It's true, we all have roles to play and should play them correctly to help develop our future sports superstars.

It's a huge task that we add to just simply being parents, but the rewards are so promising. Maybe we'll have a few more cups of coffee again guys.