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Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, October 26) – Student-athletes can begin practicing again soon, with the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) ready to submit their collegiate training guidelines to the Interagency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) this week.
Led by CHED Executive Director Cindy Jaro, the technical working group (TWG) comprised of representatives from various government agencies and institutions of higher education presented its extensive list of protocols at a virtual press conference on Monday.
“These guidelines are in the hands of the universities to implement if they wish. That is, they have the option of starting to allow their student-athletes to train, but this is not a requirement for everyone to do so, ”said CHED President Prospero De Vera.
Per the guidelines, the TWG strongly recommends a bubble-like setup for the safe resumption of university practices where teams will conduct training within school facilities in areas under general community quarantine (GCQ) and modified GCQ.
Players, coaches and essential personnel will be isolated under one roof, such as the campus dormitory, and will be prohibited from leaving the premises during the training period.
But unlike professional sports leagues, the college bubble will be limited to body conditioning exercises, non-contact drills and individual skill development, as tournaments remain banned.
“During this phase of physical training, we are not allowed to play scrimmage,” explained Francis “Kiko” Diaz, Dean of the UP College of Human Kinetics.
[Translation: During this phase of physical training, we are not yet allowed to play scrimmages.]“Coaches should always wear masks and face shields during training, while student-athletes who are not training should also wear a mask while inside the training venue,” Diaz said.
The TWG also highlighted the importance of “reengineering facilities” to accommodate the placement of facilities for hand washing and routine disinfection of frequently touched surfaces, to meet the minimum health standards established by the Health Department.
But before collegiate teams can receive the green light, they must first present a Certificate of Completion of Collegiate Training Activities duly signed by the university president and athletic director, seven days before they begin training.
This includes the consent of the parents of each participating student-athlete, except those under the age of 18, as they will only be allowed to participate in virtual training.
Meanwhile, the health department also stated that they will not require antigen testing for participants prior to their entry into the bubble. Instead, teams only need to undergo a 14-day self-quarantine before entering campus.
“If the institution wants to impose, it is up to them, but as part of our minimum health standards, Hindi siya requires (not mandatory),” said Rodley Carza, head of policy and technology, advocacy and communication at the Department of Health. .
“The 14-day quarantine ensures that players have no COVID-19 symptoms for the last fourteen days and that is enough to resume training activities,” Carza said.
However, college athletic associations have expressed that it may take a while before the plans become reality.
“Just because papayagan kami doesn’t mean sasali kami. So a particular school may have certain reservations to make Hindi appear clear. But the goal, as the host school has mentioned, is sarado na yung 2020. The earliest we can start is 2021, ”Atty said. Rebo Saguisag, Executive Director of UAAP.
[Translation: Just because we are allowed does not mean we will participate. So a particular school may have certain reservations, so it’s not yet clear. But the target, as what the host school has mentioned, is that 2020 is already closed. The earliest we can start is 2021.]“Virtual and basic skills training conducted in the privacy of your home is what we encourage when it comes to the NCAA. Even if the GTT is in place, there are still many things that need to be implemented before we can start training, so it is still up in the air and depends on the capacity of each member school, “said Hercules Callanta, member of the NCAA Management Committee.
With the completion of the guidelines, officials are optimistic that it will pave the way for the eventual resumption of collegiate sports tournaments, but only after a vaccine is available.
“If we do a good job of implementing it with all the health protocols, the next logical step would be to start thinking about opening sports competitions,” De Vera said.
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