Belmonte, Coseteng give kids free swim

MANILA, Philippines - Quezon City ViceMayor Joy Belmonte and the Diliman Preparatory School have entered into a partnership to give 350 Quezon City kids free learn-to-swim lessons under coaches of the Philippine Swimming League May 15-June 15 at the DPS Swimming Center on Fairview, Quezon City.

Slots are still open for QC kids, who may enlist with the QC Vice-Mayor’s Office any time during office hours.

The learn-to-swim project is part of the “Joy for Swimming” program of Vice- Mayor Belmonte.

Former Sen. Nikki Coseteng, who is also DPS president and chief executive officer, said the DPS aims to produce future Olympians through its five-month-old DPS Swmming Center, which boasts of three pools designed primarily to train students basic, intermediate, advanced and competitive swimming as part of the school curriculum.

The swimming center is run by the PSL under its president and founder Susan Papa, with Dennis Cordero and Ed Galeno as heads of the coaching staff.

At the same time, Sen. Coseteng, who was into sports since the 70s when she was manager-owner of a PBA ball club, said the swimming center has also committed itself to developing talents outside the school curriculum under the elite training scheme of the PSL as part of its Sports For All program.

The partnership with the QC government is the first under the outreach program of the DPS and PSL.

The DPS will be the first training center to undertake the massive program, which Coseteng said, has never been done before by a national sports association for swimming. 

“We would like to invite all Filipinos to be part of the program. Ours is a sport for all, not a sport for the few,” said Coseteng, who also bared plans to expand the initiative nationwide to include key cities throughout the country.

“We shall soon start harvesting gold medals again in the Asian Games as we open swimming to all, not just a few favored ones,” said Coseteng.