Planned P20M Multipurpose Gym Seen to Boost Unified Athletes’ Training

A P20 million Capitol-owned multipurpose gym that will be used for the athletes’ training will rise in Sitio Sudlon, Barangay Lahug, Cebu City within the year.

This was disclosed by lawyer Ramil Abing, executive director of the Cebu Provincial Sports Commission (CPSC), during the “Kasayuran sa Kalambuan” forum last Friday.

Abing said the facility is one of the CPSC programs aimed to help address the lack of venue where Cebu Province athletes could undergo a unified training.

“The budget for the project was already approved by Gov. Davide. The multipurpose gym will be a big boost to the athletes’ training and to our program of having a unified training under one roof,” Abing said.

According to the CPSC director, the size of the facility is equivalent to two basketball courts and can hold training  for basketball, volleyball, badminton, table tennis, weightlifting, among others.

He said he already talked to the engineering office for the design, adding that the construction will begin middle of this year.

The CPSC has been proposing to have a unified training in one location so the athletes can be easily monitored and assessed by coaches.

While he acknowledged difficulty conducting training as well as clinics in the towns for some sports such as swimming and football due to the lack of venues, Abing said these drawbacks are being addressed by the commission.

For instance, he said, if several towns requested a training for swimming or football, they grouped them into clusters and brought their booters and swimmers to the city where the venues are available.

Meanwhile, the CPSC director is confident that the Cebu Province can improve its ranking in this year’s Central Visayas Regional Athletics Association (CVIRAA) meet set on Feb. 24 to March 1 in Tagbilaran City, Bohol.

Last year, the Cebu Province was one notch lower from claiming the title, bouncing back from a lackluster performance in 2016 edition where it wound up fourth place in the final tally.

Aside from intensifying the grassroots programs in the municipalities, Abing said Gov. Hilario P. Davide III has also been providing financial support to the athletes, as well as equipment and trainings through CPSC.

“I don’t see any reason why we can’t excel this year with all the support that we have given to the Department of Education (DepEd) and to our athletes,” he said.

For this year, the Province allocated P10 million for its CVIRAA delegation, which is P2 million higher compared to 2017.