'Champs for Joy', CCT tankers test mettle in novice swim meet

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippine Swimming League and the Diliman Preparatory School are launching their first novice competition for beginners and fresh graduates of their summer program on July 2 at the DPS Swimming Center on Commonwealth Ave., Fairview, Quezon City.

Over 400 boys and girls from the National Capital Region, Batangas, Olongapo, Quezon, Bohol, Pangasinan, Bulacan, Cavite and the Visayas region are seeing action in the one-day competition hosted by former Sen. and DPS president-chief executive officer Nikki Coseteng and PSL president-founder Susan Papa.

The Class C swimmers will be joined by Class D graduates from two grassroots programs – the “Champs for Joy” of Quezon City Vice Mayor Joy Belmonte and the “Kaibigan” of the Center for Community Transformation in Tagaytay.

Coseteng and Papa said the Class C and D swimmers will clash for promotion to Class B category and eventually to Class A as they progress in the program.

 “This will be the first time these two groups under our outreach, developmental program will be competing after their training last summer,” said Papa.

“The Quezon City and CCT swimmers came from zero capability and eventually they will be elevated to Class B as they improve, with the aim of getting them to Class A, which is the competitive, advanced stage,” she added.

The QC swimmers took learn-to-swim lessons under the initiative of Vice Mayor Belmonte, whose “Champs for Joy” program took off the launching pad last summer with the one-month training, for free, of the first batch of 300 swimmers under PSL and DPS coaches.

The other swimmers were street children adopted by the CCT, a community-based, Christian transformation community, whose mission is to give abandoned children a singular chance to chase their young dreams, by transforming them into Christian boys and girls under the context of a loving Christian community.

The CCT is based in a sprawling, quiet and clean environment in Tagaytay with branches nationwide. Its swimming pool in Tagaytay serves as training facility for young underprivileged children whom CCT hopes to develop into national and international champs under PSL and DPS coaching staff.

“Training of the youth is the main thrust of Vice Mayor Belmonte and the CCT. They believe in the youth because they believe in the future. We share their vision,” said Coseteng and Papa.