THE Philippine Aquatics, Inc. (PAI) solid program strengthens the swimming campaign and raises the quality of athletes from other sports under its management in international competitions.
PAI Executive Director Anthony Reyes noted that, under the leadership of President Miko Vargas and Secretary-General Eric Buhain and with the support of the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC), the organization is working hard to provide the athletes with the necessary allowances, training, and international exposure.
"Because of the sound PAI program and with the help of the PSC and the entire swimming community, we will successfully elevate swimming. Since the establishment of PAI, we have had consecutive successes not only in swimming but also in artistic swimming, water polo, open swimming, and diving,” Reyes said during the Tabloids Organization in Philippine Sports, Inc. (TOPS) ‘Usapang Sports’ on Thursday at the PSC Badminton VIP Room inside the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex.
Diving is gradually returning from the abyss thanks to a strong campaign abroad, including the recently concluded 2nd Parisakti Diving International Competition in Indonesia, where 20-year-old Rose Ann Ocmer won a gold medal (open platform) and a bronze medal (1m open event).
Before this, the senior high school student also brought home medals in other international competitions in Singapore, Malaysia, and Hong Kong last year.
“We are working hard in training. We want to repay the sacrifices of our officials and our countrymen with a victory. With the good leadership of PAI, we can return to regular training, and our confidence, which was somewhat low due to our failures in the past tournament, is gradually returning,” Ocmer said regarding the diving team’s disappointing campaign in the past SEA Games.
PAI Director and diving head Marie DeCastro Dimanche admitted that it is difficult to recruit athletes in diving, despite the incredible number of talents from the province.
First, our limited training venues are forcing us to focus on Manila, since the Rizal Memorial diving pool is the closest. The Ultra is being fixed because we don’t have land training there, while Clark is too far for our athletes, who are all studying in Manila and are still underage,” said Dimanche.
Despite this, the athletes are strong, persistent, and determined under the supervision of Chinese Coach Gui and Olympian Rexcel Fabriga.
“There is a lot of talent in the provinces, but we are having a hard time convincing parents to bring their children to Manila. We can’t leave Manila to train because they are studying here. One thing for sure, our athletes are determined to make up for the SEA Games, so we still have three more international exposures and training, possibly in China,” said Dimanche.
Reyes was pleased by the continued rise in world rankings of several elite swimmers—Kyla Sanchez, Ciandi Chua, Alexander Eichler, and Gian Santos—all qualified for the July World Championship.
"Our other elite swimmers have their training programs abroad, like SEA Games champion Chloe Isleta (Australia), Jasmine Mojdeh, and Heather White (US). But in August, they have to go home first for the national tryouts for the selection of the PH team in the SEA Games this December," said Reyes.
