Patafa boasts gains in 2016

The year-round sports program of the Philippine Amateur Track and Field Association (Patafa), coupled with the proper identification of athletes, scientific training, sound sports management and honest-to-goodness funding, boosted the association’s campaign. 

Based on Patafa’s year-end report, 2016 proved to be a very successful and productive season for the association.

The National Sports Association (NSA) made headway for the Philippines in the Asian Athletics Association (AAA) and International Association of Athletics Federation (IAAF). Patafa, being the local governing body in athletics, supported the entire federation by shifting its approach to make its on-ground activities and projects more dynamic and salient.

Kids Athletics

Jumpstarting the training of young talents in sports, the Kids Athletics is one of the cornerstone programs of the Patafa under the auspices of the IAAF.

For 2016, Patafa implemented the Kids Athletics Program in three locations: Gen. Santos City, Kidapawan City, and Philsports in Pasig City.

For 2017, Patafa is gearing to work closely with the Department of Education (DepEd) in integrating the program with the Kindergarten-to-Grade 12 curriculum. Likewise, the federation looks forward to surpass the program’s 2015 benchmark of 12 areas.

Patafa Weekly Relays

As one of the institutional programs of the Patafa, the Weekly Relay has become a hotbed of talent development for the federation. Each year, from June to November, aspiring and developmental athletes converge and compete at the Philsports track and field oval to hone their athletic skills and talents. 2016 saw the Weekly Relays having a pilot spin-off in Ilagan, Isabela. This served as its Luzon leg.

This year, the federation will kick off the Visayas leg in Bacolod City or Cebu City, and the Mindanao leg in Koronadal City to complete the three-region satellite implementation of the program.

Top three winners in every event in each leg will gain slots in the November finals, to be held at Philsports.

Patafa Athletics Academy

Patafa and its athletics program stand to benefit extensively as the number of qualified local coaches increases in number. Likewise, conducting the accreditation program alongside an athletics clinic will enhance the popularization and adoption of athletics as a sport on the ground level.

Grounded in this direction, the Patafa launched in 2016 its athletics education arm, the Patafa Athletics Academy (Paa).

Topping the athletics academy component is the Athletics Coaching Enhancement Seminar, which is aimed at advancing the technical competency and practical knowledge of physical education (PE) teachers and local coaches handling young and developmental athletes for athletics.

Street Athletics

Another component of Paa is the Street Athletics project. The project may be held in any open area, preferably in a park or similar venue.

The program answers to the growing demand to bring athletics to the most number of possible adopters of the sport and brings the sport out of the usual confines of standard athletics stadium.

Talent Identification and Scouting

To bring back the glory days of athletics, Patafa undertook a massive talent scouting across the country for possible inclusion in both the national team and national training pool.

It hopes to discover a new breed of athletics champions in the mold of sprint queen Lydia de Vega, long jump artist Elma Muros and steeplechase expert Hector Begeo. PNA