When people hear of the Cebu City Sports Commission (CCSC), some assume it is for everything sports-related in Cebu. It’s not actually. It has a specific role: to craft grassroots programs for Cebu City’s youth and to support the city’s delegation in LGU-based meets, like the Philippine National Games. Sometimes, it extends support, too, to Cebu City athletes in the Department of Education meets.
In an ideal setup, anything sports-related in Cebu should be registered with the commission not just to prevent scheduling issues but so we have an idea of who is holding what event. That was impossible under the previous setup but this return to sports under the Covid-19 pandemic may make that possible.
Sports organizers are required to register with the CCSC and the local EOC (Emergency Operations Center) for them to be able to hold their events. No, I don’t think this is a matter of getting approval and all who apply will get approved, unless some zany individual decides to hold lingerie football. This is just ministerial, just to remind organizers of the protocols to follow to make their events safe.
But this can also give the CCSC the much-needed data it needs when it comes to local sports stakeholders and can bring them closer to the LGU. That way, they will know what local sports—aside from the school-based sports—need. It may be outside their purview but it gives a whole new meaning to the name, Cebu City Sports Commission.
Take for example the local basketball leagues. We have so many. We have the alumni leagues, the corporate-based leagues, the barangay leagues. Do you know what could make it more interesting? A CCSC-organized champions league and knowing how basketball-mad the city is, we might even get to create our local version of Europe’s famous UEFA’s champions league.
And having taken up tennis again just recently and learning how club tennis is so very alive, I think having our local version of the Davis Cup is doable. I mean, the local clubs have been having their mini-Davis Cups over the years, inviting players from other clubs for a weekend derby and that’s something CCSC can build on.
I guess, two years of having no sports events have given me some crazy ideas. I’m glad we will all be back to our favorite courts again, maybe with some unwanted pounds and jerseys one or two sizes too big.
I hope organizers heed the call of CCSC to register their events. I’m sure the first questions in the minds of some who are reluctant to do so would be, “Will they finance us?” The answer is no. But you’ll never know the benefits of registering your event with the CCSC.
And of course, I can’t mention the re-start of sports in the city without congratulating my friend John Pages on his appointment as the new CCSC chair. Ed Hayco is a tough act to follow but I’m confident the amiable writer behind Match Point is the man for the job since he knows all aspects of sports—he’s been a player, an organizer, a commentator, a member of an award-giving body and is now the chairman of the local commission. Good luck John!
