THE archery and fencing associations are poised to set up separate training camps in the cities of Dumaguete, Negros Occidental and Ormoc, Leyte to enable their athletes to resume actual workouts as part of their build-up for Olympic qualifiers in the next few months.
Archery head Atty. Clint Aranas and fencing chief Richard Gomez, also the Ormoc City mayor, said they had secured permission from the Philippine Sports Commission for their Olympic hopefuls to transfer and begin actual practices in both cities.
Appearing in the Philippine Sportswriters Association online forum the other day, Philippine Sports Institute executive director Marc Velasco said the two National Sports Associations were making arrangements so their Olympic aspirants could train in the provinces.
“We will have our men’s and women’s recurve teams, four for each squad, in Dumaguete,” said Aranas, the World Archery Philippines president, of the training camp backed by Dumaguete City Mayor Felipe Remollo.
“Some of our archers are actually in Dumaguete already but more are coming over from Manila,” Aranas added. “We want them over there since there is a team event in Olympic archery.”
He said that depending on the archers’ performance in the ongoing World Indoor Series organized by World Archery “we might send eight archers or just one each in the individual men’s and women’s events in the Olympic qualifiers.”
The Olympic qualifying tournament is set June 18-21 in Paris, France.
Mark Cabral and Rachelle Anne Cabral were the last Pinoy archers to see action in the quadrennial meet in 2012 in London, England.
Gomez said he intends to bring the entire national fencing squad to Ormoc by Feb. 6 so they can start workouts at the Ormoc City Sports Center.
“We’re looking at about 18 to 20 athletes and four coaches,” said Gomez, a 2005 Southeast Asian Games epee team gold medalist, of his plan, adding they will be billeted at a nearby hotel just about 500 meters from the training venue.
“We wanted to bring the entire team so they could also prepare for the Vietnam Southeast Asian Games in November since some of our neighboring countries have begun actual training already and we would be left behind,” Gomez said.
Gomez, also the Philippine Olympic Committee second vice president, said national epee athletes know what to expect in Ormoc after he hosted them for more than a month just before Christmas.
