Sports for the family

Before anything else, I would like to remind the members of the Philippine Society for Industrial Security (PSIS) Region-7 of the general assembly set this 1 p.m. at the conference room of Police Regional Office-7.

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The Sacred Heart School-Ateneo de Cebu community will have an early start today as the St. Ignatius Day Run fires off this 5:30 a.m. at the school’s campus in Canduman, Mandaue City.

I saw the long queue of the last minute registrants for the event yesterday after the anticipated celebration of the school’s patron saint.

The running bug has caught so many people and it is no surprise that even the students are eager to take part in the activity.

There are also many parents, who are joining the run to be with their children. This shall hopefully get more people interested in taking part in activities that promote health and fitness.

Taking part in sports activities can also bind families together. Sometimes even if there is only one athlete in the family, having the other members around during games and practices promote closer ties between parents and kids and among siblings.

With more of you taking part in sports, you can also further develop that bond and become a stronger basic unit of society.

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Somebody asked me yesterday afternoon, what do I think will be the next big sport here?

My answer was, “I don’t know.”

While running took over badminton as the next big sport in the past five or so years, it is not really that easy to determine the trend. Well, maybe if I could do that, I would put more money in the stock market or buy more lotto tickets, but I can’t.

Badminton and running are not exactly new sports in the country but their surge in popularity have been phenomenal leading to the opening of more badminton courts and the steep rise in sales of running shoes.

Sports that could gain a lot of popularity soon could be cycling or mountain biking, which continues to have a growing number of enthusiasts as well as darts that is now getting a shot in the arm with more tournaments being held.

We can’t say for sure though if the growth of such sports would match that of badminton and running and only time will tell.

What is good now is that the equipment are not too hard to get by. 

I bumped into Jose Manuel ‘Dodo’ Cuenco of Toyota-Cebu in one of the sports stores recently and we talked about how difficult it is now to decide what to buy with all the choices laid down before us.

When we were much younger, there were only a few stores to go to and a few brands to choose from.

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MILESTONES: Belated happy birthday to my good friend Carl Senen Veloso, who turned a year older yesterday.

Today’s greetings go to my fellow Cebu Squad members Marlon Mesina and Kenneth Rosalejos. The same goes to indefatigable football player Joel Catan and Ronnie Presillas.

Advance greetings go to my Tao brother Aaron Mangoroban, Jasper Santillan and Chester Benedict Go.

More power to all of you! – THE FREEMAN