Early SEAG sked conflicts with Asian Indoor tourney

There seems to be a serious oversight in the scheduling of the 23rd SEA Games which the Philippines is hosting next year.

The biennial event is set Nov. 22 to 30 or just a couple of days behind the first Asian Indoor Championships to be held Nov. 13-19 in Thailand. The tight schedule might pose a problem for Southeast Asian countries hoping to do well in both events.

The Philippines, in particular, might be torn between sending its top athletes to the Asian Indoor or keeping them safe and sound for the SEA Games where it hopes to win the overall title that slipped away when it last hosted the event in 1991.

The Philippine SEA Games Organizing Committee earlier looked at a December date for the multi-nation event but had decided to hold it in November.

Whether it would be rescheduled now depends on the other SEA Games member countries who also wish to send their best athletes to the inaugural staging of the Asian Indoor, organized by the Olympic Council of Asia.

A total of 123 golds will be up for grabs in the Asian Indoor which will have competitions in nine events: aerobics, athletics, cycling, dance sports, futsal, sepak takraw, swimming, Muay Thai and extreme sports.

Most of these events will be played in the SEA Games. Therefore, transporting the athletes, officials and even their equipment from Thailand to Manila may be a problem unless a change in schedule is effected.

The Philippine SEA Games in December could be the solution.