PHILIPPINE Olympic Committee (POC) President Rep. Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino will lend a hundred bicycles to national athletes who don’t have the means to travel to and from their training venues.
“With the new normal which mandates that we find new ways to go about our daily business, national athletes who do not have a personal mode of transportation will surely benefit from this,” said Tolentino, also the president of the national federation for cycling, PhilCycling.
“Cycling is not only a healthy way to get from one point to another, it also promotes social distancing, not to mention avoiding traffic jams,” he added.
Tolentino sought the POC Board’s approval for the provision for 100 bicycle units that would be made available to members of the various national teams.
But with only a hundred bicycles available, the POC would implement a first-come, first-served policy for interested athletes. There are at least a thousand national team members in 56 sports under the POC umbrella.
“We need to be innovative so the POC is looking for ways so that our athletes would stay fit and ready for competitions once the situation allows it,” Tolentino said.
“Whether to commute to and from their training venues, or even for leisure, cycling is a good way for our national athletes to keep in good physical condition,” the Cavite congressman added.
The POC’s offer came a day after the PhilCycling engaged in an endeavor to make the bicycle the “king of the road” or the safest mode of transportation while the entire world is threatened by the Covid-19 virus.
On Tuesday morning, the major stakeholders in Philippine cycling banded together in the hope of instilling a cycling culture among Filipinos.
AIR21’s Bert Lina, also the PhilCycling chairman, joined Ronda Pilipinas’s Moe Chulani (LBC) and Go For Gold’s Jeremy Go in a virtual meeting to lay the groundwork of establishing a more concrete advocacy on making cycling the vehicle of choice in the “new normal.”
The group included convenor and Le Tour de Filipinas President Donna Lina and Project Manager Sunshine Joy Mendoza, 7-Eleven Cliqq Roadbike Philippines AIR21’s Ric Rodriguez, Lina’s Chief of Staff Titus Reyes and national team coaches Ednalyn Hualda (Go For Gold) and Reinhard Gorantes, also of Philippine Navy-Standard Insurance and PhilCycling Director Jun Lomibao.
The group intends to significantly complement government’s efforts to encourage the use of bicycles following the filing of separate bills in Congress—Reps. Karlo Nograles and Jericho Jonas Nograles—and in the Senate—Sen. Pia Cayetano—that would institutionalize bicycle lanes and parks all over the country.
The Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases has lifted the ban on cycling, walking and jogging outdoors after the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) was relaxed to a modified ECQ. However, the task force stressed physical distancing and the use of face masks remain compulsory.
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