PSC wants to discover new talents through National Open

Tapping more talented athletes to represent the country in future international tournaments will be the main objective of the Philippine Sports Commission in the creation of the National Open Games. Open to all Filipinos, the National Open will be funded by the PSC, as confirmed by PSC chairman Ritchie Garcia, chairman of the government’s sports agency. But unlike in the regular National Open being conducted by several national sports associations (NSAs) where only legitimate members of the federations are allowed to compete, the event will be open to all Filipino aspirants. “We’ll make it a point that the National Open will be open to all Filipinos. It’s the country who will benefit from new talents to be discovered and besides, it’s the people’s money that is being used to fund this event," said Garcia. NSAs accredited by the Philippine Olympic Committee will help out in terms of technical expertise. They will also supervise and endorse competitors for the planned National Open. The NSAs will also be allowed to hold pre-qualifying events that have a large number of participants. The PSC will lead the search for new talents who might be given a chance to compete in the near future, including next year’s Southeast Asian Games in Palembang, Indonesia from November 11 to 25. In the recent Guangzhou Asian Games, the veteran-laden Philippine squad produced only three gold, four silver and nine bronze medals, prompting sports officials to come up with this new program. - KY, RCJ, GMANews.TV