Manila caps banner year in sports

In the history of the country’s premiere city, never has Manila seen a more active and potent sports development agenda for the youth being implemented than what the Manila Sports Council (MASCO) has done.

Chaired by Arnold "Ali" Atienza, son of the dynamic Manila Mayor Lito Atienza and a former national athlete, the city government’s sports arm stirred the consciousness and enthusiasm of the more than one million constituents in harnessing the talent of the Big City’s youth not only for them to become future champions but also assets of society.

In the year 2001, after laying down the groundwork for its grassroots program, the young Atienza formed a lean and mean delegation of children-athletes to compete in the third Philippine National Youth Games — Batang Pinoy in Bacolod City.

With 47 athletes, Team MayniLA saw action in just 5 events out of the 16 sports offered in the Batang Pinoy and went home victorious, besting 83 local teams from all over the country and standing tall among 3,000 other participants.

The impressive showing inspired Manila to embark on its own comprehensive city-wide grassroots development program for the youth — the Manila Youth Games (MY Games) — a first in local government sports.

Beginning 2002, more than 8,000 children-athletes aged 15 and under from the city’s 897 barangays and 130 public and private schools saw action in each of the three editions of the MY Games all staged in resounding success.

Putting premium on the youth, helping guide them to the right path and instilling in their minds the importance of sports and the spirit of athletic competition are the goals the city government wants to achieve with the MY Games.

"It has always been said that the youth is the hope of the nation. That is why we are focusing on the youth by providing them with an endeavor that would guide their path towards becoming assets of society," said Atienza, the former Asian taekwondo champion.

"Local sports should widen its opportunities to accommodate more young recruits especially from the grassroots," Atienza added. "Through these programs, Manila is reinforcing its thrust to fully link the youth to our sports base."

In 2003, the MASCO pushed forward another of its pet projects with the inaugural staging of the Manila Marathon, which is intended to become the country’s trademark sporting event, one that would someday rival the prestige and magnitude of the Boston, New York, San Francisco and Tokyo Marathons.

This year, more than 40,000 runners from all walks of life participated in what is now known as the biggest one-time gathering of runners in Philippine soil envisioned to serve as one of the major sporting events to usher in the country’s hosting of the 2005 Southeast Asian Games, as well as create awareness in rallying support for Filipino athletes competing in the biennial meet.

Expressing high hopes for the city’s youth and future in sports, the MASCO fulfilled its vow to give deserving and outstanding performers in the MY Games international exposure to further hone their skills and showcase their athletic prowess in the international scene.

Team MayniLA participated in the Hong Kong Swimming Championships in Kowloon, the Southeast Asian taekwondo meet in Indonesia, and the World Youth taekwondo festival in Korea to compete against the best children-athletes this side of the world. The Manila bets brought home a total of 5 gold, 2 silver, and 3 bronze medals from the three events.

In 2005, the city government of Manila under Mayor Atienza and the MASCO aims to improve on its previous gains and will further strengthen its role as vanguard of sustainable sports development for the city’s youth.