Plans to construct new velodrome gain traction

By Peter Atencio

PLANS to put up a new velodrome for cycling at the Tagaytay BMX Track and Skate Park in Tagaytay City have gained traction.

Sports officials from the Philippine Sports Commission met with the Quezon City government, which plans to convert its ageing Amoranto velodrome along Roces Ave. into a football and track stadium and help out with the construction of a new cycling facility in the popular town south of Manila.

Officials from Quezon City, who are in talks with Philippine Sports Commission chairman Richard Bachmann, hinted at contributing P40 million to P50 million in the construction of a new cycling facility elsewhere.

“We are meeting with them on this.

EIGHT gold medals will be at stake when advanced competitions in athletics are held during the opening rites of the 20 23 Palarong Pambansa at the Philsports oval in Pasig on July 31. This will happen after one of the two centerpiece events of the Palaro is conducted as a separate event in the multisport event’s opener.

Recently, the Department of Education’s Palarong Pambansa Secretariat agreed on the recommendations of technical officials to move the first events of athletics, the field events.

Set to start at 8 a.m. are the elementary competitions of the pole vault and high jump events, while the secondary hostilities in both meets will go in the afternoon, starting at 3 p.m.

“Doon na po sa Philsports ang dalawang events ng pole vault at high jump,” said Narciso Dasigan, tournament manager of the Palaro.

Technical officials involved informed the secretariat that the track and field stadium inside the Marikina Sports Complex would not be able to accommodate all the events in athletics and the para games when the Palaro officially commences.

The venue, according to their studies, might be too small to handle the field events, which includes pole vault, high jump and long jump.

With the adjustments done in the scheduling, organizers have slated the all the high jump and the pole vault competitions to be a whole-day event at the Philsports field.

Aside from athletics, medals will also be at stake in archery, arnis, badminton, baseball, basketball, billiards, boxing, chess, dance sports, football, futsal, goal ball, bocce, gymnastics, pencak silat, sepak takraw, softball, swimming, table tennis, tennis, taekwondo, volleyball, wrestling, and wushu.

The Palarong Pambansa is making a comeback this month after it was canceled for three years since 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Peter Atencio

We’ll discuss on how we can do and check out the legislations that have been passed in the Senate and Congress on facilities that, by law, are under the care of the PSC,” said Bachmann.

“They (Quezon City government) are asking if they can convert it into a football and oval. And they plan to help out and fund around P40 to P50 million for another place. We’re looking at Tagaytay,” said Bachmann.

Tagaytay City mayor Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino, who is also the president of the Philippine Olympic Committee and is deeply involved in the sport as head of its national association (PhilCycling) welcomed the move.

Tolentino said during the recent Asian Cycling Confederation BMX Championships that the Tagaytay LGU has an available land for this undertaking, located inside the sprawling BMX and skate park in the Kaybagal South area.

“Wala na ang (Amoranto Stadium). We have an agreement with the Quezon City government. They will donate for the construction of a new velodrome. Give me two years and we will have facilities for road bike, MT B, and BMX and for track,” said Tolentino, who showed Bachmann around the Kaybagal South venue during t he Asian competitions.

Tolentino said they have already given up on plans to renovate the Amoranto Sports Complex in Quezon City as the local government has other plans for the venue.

Funding for plans to build a new velodrome in Tagaytay City has been secured early this year by the PhilCycling from the International Cycling Union.

Tolentino got funding support after returning recently from a meeting of the Asian Cycling Confederation Congress in Bali, Indonesia.

The UCI will provide the design of the velodrome so that it will surely be up to world-class standards.

Conditions of the 5.8-hectare facility in QC have deteriorated and are no longer up to international standard.

Tolentino explained that the standard length of a velodrome now stands at 250 meters and no longer 350 meters, the size of the Amoranto facility.

The POC chief earlier said the budget of building a new one could reach a staggering P1.5 billion.

The ICTSI-backed ace faces No. 17 Farah O’Keefe in the quarterfinals Friday morning with the eight survivors bracing for another grueling test of stamina with the semifinals slated in the afternoon.

“I was very patient knowing that my putter and irons were really cold in the first 12 holes,” said Malixi, who missed five birdie chances inside 6 feet before falling two holes down as Rischer dominated the long holes and birdied Nos. 9 and 11.

Malixi missed another chance on No. 12 and Rischer halved the next hole to sit on the two-hole cushion with five holes left.

But while Malixi toughened up in the face of adversity, the No. 25 Rischer cracked trying to stay ahead and ward off any of the former’s plausible stretch-run rally.

The American failed as she bogeyed the 14th and though she hung tough by matching Malixi’s pars in the next two holes, the latter proved clutch, rolling in a delicate 15-foot putt for birdie on the 17th to force an all-square match.

“I know that it was a tough match. But it was never over until it’s over. So I kept on grinding and fighting back,” said Malixi.

Grind and fight back she did and Malixi spiked her riveting victory with a solid drive and an equally superb 4-Hybrid approach shot on the 408-yard 18th that landed near the cup.