The Philippines is once again on its verge on making major history in SEAG 2019. Underwater Hockey is one of the six new sports in the 30th edition of the Southeast Asian Games, a multi-sport event where 11 countries participate. The events will be held at various venues around the country.
“Our country is hosting the largest and most professionally run SEAG ever, and this 30th edition of the games is shaping up to be so,” shared Dennis Valdes, president of the PUHC and Competition Manager for SEAG UWH.
The Philippine UWH Team is making a serious bid to win Gold Medals in the upcoming regional competition. Underwater Hocket will have four events, Men’s 4×4 and 6×6, and the same for Women’s. Five countries will compete in the Underwater Hockey: the Philippines, along with Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar and Singapore.
To make this happen, the national sports association for UWH in the country, the Philippine Underwater Hockey Confederation or PUHC, has been training the athletes that will form the national team for over ten months. According to the PUHC Secretary General Nadja Buenafe, finding a suitable pool for UWH in the Philippines is a real challenge. The swimming pool must accommodate two playing courts, must have a depth of at least two meters, the bottom must be smooth and free of sharp edges, and visibility underwater must be clear to see the pool walls from end to end.
“The Ayala Vermosa Sports Hub swimming pool is the only venue that meets all these requirements,” she said.
Tristan Reynard, the World Tournament Director of the Confédération Mondiale des Activités Subaquatiques or CMAS, the international federation for UWH, visited the country for PHISGOC’s 1st Technical Delegates Meeting in December 2018. At the time, he toured the various pools available for UWH and declared that only the pool at Ayala Vermosa Sports Hub was fully compliant with all the CMAS requirement for a UWH venue.
To level up their game, Ayala Land, Inc. through their estate Vermosa, has a world class sports training facility at the South. The Ayala Vermosa Sports Hub is the first professionally managed sports Hub that has an Olympic-size, 50-meter swimming pool, a 400-meter track oval and a grass-turn football pitch. “We’re very happy to have the UWH Team train in our very own pool. I believe they will have more advantage to win the SEAG as they are able to train in the pool following world-class standards,” shared Jay Teodoro, Assistant Vice President/Estate Head of Vermosa, Ayala Land Inc.
As a Test Event for SEAG 2019, PUHC and Vermosa hosted the Manila Underwater Hockey Invitational last March 2019. The successful turnout of the event opened many opportunities for the sport and the Philippine team. A total of 170 athletes from 17 different countries participated in the four-day event.
“At this stage, the whole team is focusing on improving our underwater fitness and skills. I think the team is progressing very well. We’ve seen big improvements in our fitness since we started training for SEAG. We are also trying out different formations and plays to see what’s best to use given the team’s strengths and weaknesses.” shared Chari Ongyangco, Team Captain of UWH Women’s Team.
The team has been brining pride to the country by taking home five Gold and two Silver medals in the past seven times that the Asian Underwater Hockey Championships has been held.
“Our athletes are pouring their hearts and souls into training, and everyone is doing what needs to be done. We’re grateful for the support given by the Philippine Sports Commission, PHISGOC, the SEAG organizers, and our training venue, Ayala Vermosa Sports Hub,” added Buenafe.
Ayala Land, together with all Filipinos across the country, will be rooting for the success of the UWH Philippine Team this coming December at SEAG 2019.
