A COMPACT and full-calendar University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 83 in the first quarter of 2021 is in the works.
Ateneo Athletic Director Emmanuel Fernandez, the outgoing Season 82 president, said an option to stage a Southeast Asian Games-like Season 83 was an option raised by the UAAP Board of Managing Directors.
“The SEA Games was over in two weeks, so what’s stopping the UAAP from doing the same,” Fernandez told the Philippine Sportswriters Association Forum webcast on Tuesday morning.
The Philippines hosted the 30th SEA Games from November 30 to December 11 with a mammoth program of 56 sports consisting of 530 events. Competitions were held simultaneously in multiple venues.
The UAAP program, on the other hand, has far less 14 sports—basketball, volleyball, beach volleyball, badminton, taekwondo, table tennis, swimming, judo, baseball, softball, athletics, fencing, tennis, chess and football. It also includes a cheerdance competition.
“If the volleyball season runs from February to May, what’s stopping the UAAP from running basketball side-by-side with the volleyball tournament? Nothing,” Fernandez added.
Fernandez, who was joined in the forum by UAAP Executive Director Atty. Rebo Saguisag, however, stressed all plans would depend on the progress against the Covid-19 pandemic.
“We’ are planning to have a full calendar, but of course, that would be dependent on the government and the member-schools themselves,” Fernandez told the forum presented by San Miguel Corp., Go For Gold, Amelie Hotel, Braska Restaurant and Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. and powered by Smart. “These are students and normalcy in the schools will take precedent.”
“Everything is on the table, we have all the plans, but we cannot assure anyone,” Saguisag said. “But we are targeting of course the best-case scenario.”
Fernandez also bared the league’s intention to formally close Season 82 with a ceremony awarding the general championship trophy to University of Santo Tomas (UST).
“It will be a closing ceremony with a season recap—the awards and the turnover,” he said. “It will be a taped two-hour show [by coveror ABS-CBN], with highlights of the events prior to the pandemic.”
But Fernandez stressed stress won’t be naming an Athlete of the Year for both genders.
“That’s because the other sports or events have been canceled when the pandemic struck and quarantines were imposed,” he said.
The UAAP canceled the second semester events when the enhanced community quarantine was imposed last March 16 in Luzon.
Fernandez would also hand the UAAP flag to Season 83 host De La Salle in the same program.
UST would be hoisting its 44th seniors general championship trophy—the most in the league with Far Eastern University a far second with 16—and 21st in the juniors division.