WHILE the UAAP is preparing for its 84th season in March, the fate of the league remains hanging in the air.
A ranking league official told Malaya-Business Insight the UAAP’s new season hinges largely on the government’s call, especially with the threat of rising COVID-19 infections and the presence of what appears to be the highly transmissible Omicron variant in the National Capital Region.
“Hindi namin ito masasagot, very fluid ang COVID-19 situation, all of us rely on government guidelines and policies of course,” University of the Philippines College of Human Kinetics dean and UAAP Board of Managing Directors member Francis “Kiko” Diaz said.
“But we are indeed preparing for a March 2022 opening of UAAP 84th season,” he added.
In an earlier interview, Diaz said that UAAP teams could still hold face-to-face training since it will be under a bubble set-up.
Beginning yesterday, the nation’s capital has been placed under the stricter Alert Level 3 status until Jan. 15.
The league’s new season is set to be hosted by La Salle.
School teams must file self-assessment report forms, a letter of intent with attached documents, including a sworn statement from the Higher Education Institutions adhering to the health regulations to prevent the spread of COVID-19, on top of other requirements.
The Commission on Higher Education will also conduct on-site inspections. It will be up to the CHED to give the acknowledgment certification that will allow varsity teams to resume their training.
Participants must undergo an RT-PCR test and yield a negative test, or a 14-day isolation period before taking part in the training.
The venues must be equipped with screening areas and temperature checks and enforce regular disinfection schedules before and after training.
The CHED gave the green light for the resumption of collegiate training under stringent health and safety protocols last November.
