Staying true to its vision of expanding events for Season 101, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) has added aerobic gymnastics and golf to its calendar this year.
The NCAA, in partnership with the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) and the Gymnastics Association of the Philippines (GAP), introduced aerobic gymnastics to potential participants on Monday at the Rizal Memorial Coliseum.
Aerobic gymnastics, according to the World Gymnastics website, is the “ability to perform continuous complex and high intensity movement patterns to music, which originate from traditional aerobic exercises.”
Artistic gymnastics, similar to the sport of Carlos and Karl Eldrew Yulo, showcases an athlete’s capability across different apparatuses such as the floor exercise and horizontal bar, among others.
NCAA Season 101 management committee chair Melchor Divina said that the partnership with the PSC and GAP will help strengthen student-athletes’ talents and skills.
“[Ito ay] nagpapakita ng matibay na suporta sa grassroots sports, development, at technical education. Through a program like this, mas mapapalakas natin ang ating sports community at mas mabubuksan ang mga posibilidad para sa future competitions, talent, discovery, at athletes’ development,” Divina said in his speech on Monday.
“That’s the duty of the NCAA, to develop the student-athletes. The bottomline is, siyempre to be a good student, you have to be a good citizen, but along the way, gusto namin that you will represent the country well in international competitions,” echoed NCAA management committee member Paul Supan of Jose Rizal University who will also host the event.
The NCAA’s aerobic gymnastics program will run for more than a month. On Monday, student-athletes were given introductory lessons on the sport.
School representatives will then undergo six training sessions with GAP at their respective facilities, followed by a series of rehearsals for their exhibition on May 21 at the Rizal Memorial Coliseum.
There will be no competition yet, as this year’s event will determine the possibility of including aerobic gymnastics as a demonstration sport in the future.
GAP President Cynthia Carrion, meanwhile, thanked the NCAA for including aerobic gymnastics in its program.
“I would like to thank the NCAA for officially accepting sports aerobics. Of course, sports aerobics is a sport that involves skills of balance, flexibility, and discipline. And with these skills, you can go very strong. And it's a very, very interesting sport to watch, very fun.”
NCAA golf to swing in May
Aside from aerobic gymnastics, the NCAA is also set to open its golf tournament on May 20 at the Wack Wack Golf and Country Club.
In a Facebook announcement last March, the NCAA said the golf tournament will also feature the University of Asia and the Pacific as a guest school.
A team category will be held exclusively for student-athletes, while an open category will be available to all NCAA member schools.
San Beda University will host the said event.
—JMB, GMA News
