PSC commish Loyzaga, Kayak chief to lead PHL SEAG delegation

Joaquin "Chito" Loyzaga of the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) and Canoe-Kayak Federation president Dr. Sim Chi Tat were appointed as co-Chefs de Mission (CDM) to the 26th Southeast Asian Games (SEAG) in Indonesia in November. The two were chosen by the Philippine Olympic Committes since the 2011 SEAG will be held simultaneously in Palembang and Jakarta. POC president Jose "Peping" Cojuangco Jr. also appointed PSC commissioner Akiko Thomson-Guevarra, POC first vice president Manny Lopez, and POC board member Col. Jeff Tamayo as members of the SEAG working committee. "The early formation of the working group will allow us to have more time to ensure that the soon-to-be-formed national team will have adequate preparation for the SEA Games," said Loyzaga, who was also a member of the working committee for the Guangzhou Asian Games in China and the Muscat Asian Beach Games in Oman last year. Loyzaga said the working committee will formulate guidelines on the selection of athletes for the national team. "We will start crafting the guidelines after the SEA Games Federation Council meeting on February 24 and 25 in Indonesia. I will be joining the country’s delegation to determine the actual sports to be held and their respective events," said Loyzaga, "Once we have determined this, we will know what guidelines to use as basis for the national athletes to join the delegation." He added that he and Sim will meet with the different National Sports Associations (NSAs) to determine who among the members from the training pool will be chosen for the national team, as well as to discuss the SEAG budget. "With the POC and PSC working hand in hand now, we expect to have smooth flow in our work, and hopefully come up with the best national team that will reap honors in Indonesia," Loyzaga said. The Philippines is hoping to surpass its fifth-place finish in Laos where the national athletes won 38 gold, 35 silver and 51 bronze medals. Indonesia plans to host 44 sports disciplines, with cricket and Tarung Derajat, a Sundanese full-contact martial art, being added as demonstration sports. – JVP, KY, GMANews.TV