Nation’s obsession with Olympic gold

Every so often, we are asked how do we improve Philippine sports? And very often, the quality of Philippine sports is gauged by the performance of our athletes in elite sports or by the number of medals Filipino athletes bring home from international competitions like the Olympics, the Asian Games and the Southeast Asian (SEA) Games. Capturing the elusive gold medal has become the obsession of both government (Philippine Sports Commission or PSC) and the private sector (Philippine Olympic Committee).

There is nothing inherently wrong in aiming for an Olympic gold medal. After all, poorer countries like Ethiopia and Kenya have gotten more gold medals in the Olympics than all the medals that the Philippines has won since the country started participating in the Olympics in 1928. Much smaller countries and territories like Jamaica and Hong Kong have already pocketed several gold medals (in the case of Jamaica) while our Southeast Asian neighbor, Thailand, has already won gold medals in boxing, a sport which, together with basketball, we like to think we dominate in the region.

Winning a gold medal in the Olympics creates social cohesion. Sport can galvanize a country like the Philippines which has its share of internal turmoil. It can unite a country as we have seen each time Manny Pacquiao and Nonito Donaire step into the ring much like the nation is thrilled with the triumphs of Gemma Cruz, Gloria Diaz, Margie Moran, Aurora Pijuan and Megan Young in international beauty pageants.

Doing well in the Olympics or any high-caliber competition makes for good propaganda and enhances the nation’s credibility in the international community. As we’ve stated several times in the past, a nation makes a statement each time it fields its athletes in international athletic competitions.

But creating Olympics winners requires a massive and radical change in mindset and a sports and recreation structure that the Philippines is far from establishing even in a rudimentary way. Although the framework for sports development exists (through our laws) for creating the infrastructure needed to achieve the ideal of synchronization of grassroots and elite sports, there is however, a lack of appreciation by various sports stakeholders of what precisely is the role of sport in society and its relationship with other institutions and other human activities and disciplines.

Sport has been viewed merely as entertainment and a never ending series of games. Many sports observers, including media, have an intimate knowledge of sports facts and trivia but unfortunately do not really appreciate the logic and philosophy of sport. People have uttered the oft-repeated and much-abused phrases – “there’s nothing like starting them young”or “let’s develop sports at the grassroots” – with very little regard for and awareness of child psychology, sports sociology and the requirements of “grassroots sports development”.

The lack of a true understanding of sport could be traced to a number of factors, one of which is the media’s tendency to chronicle sports events with very little critical analysis, say of children and youth sports (since many keep on saying “let’s start them young”), and how its misuse can create much more harm than the “disease” it is supposed to cure. As an important stakeholder, sports media has to lead, together with academia, in educating society in general and sports fans and policymakers in particular on the role of sports in national development.

Policymakers who will eventually provide access to more resources for sports must be reminded that sports is science and is an integral part of education. To win that Olympic gold requires a coaching, training and sports science network and infrastructure as close as possible to the barangays. To win that Olympic gold requires a reexamination of school and youth sports and the PE curriculum.

We need both the software and the hardware – one without the other will be an endless exercise in futility.

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Former PSC executive director and member of the national women’s dragon boat team, Dina Bernardo, has organized, together with others who seek to professionalize sports, the Sport Management Council of the Philippines (SMCP).

The SMCP aims to promote scientific programs and activities, stimulate and encourage study, research, scholarly writing, professional development and sharing in the theory and practice of sports management and pedagogy. To achieve its main purpose, the SMCP shall, among other things, encourage and promote original research in both theoretical and applied aspects of sports management, assist in the dissemination of information and knowledge base in sport management and professional preparation programs.

The SMCP will holds its Sports Management Bootcamp on Nov. 8 and 9 at the Enderun Colleges in McKinley Hill, Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City for athletic directors, aspiring and current managers of sports organizations, sports facility owners, entrepreneurs, or marketing professionals who are or want to venture into sport businesses. Among the speakers in the camp, aside from Bernardo, are former swimming Olympian Rene Concepcion and Prof Ronualdo Dizer, dean of the College of Human Kinetics of the UP. For those interested in joining the bootcamp, please contact Florence Elumba either at 0917 881 1217 or through email: [email protected].