THE Joint Agreement Order (JAO) group said on Monday that the guidelines for school sports’ return has been completed but are limited only to the training of student athletes and not competitions or leagues.
The JAO group also stressed that student athletes will be allowed to return to training under two modes—online or stay-in at their respective schools’ sports facilities.
Commission on Higher Education (CHED) Chairman Prospero de Vera III, however, said the guidelines still need the approval of the Inter-Agency Task Force on the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases.
“The general idea is to start opening up the activities in all areas so that we are slowly able to start resuming within the context of safety for everyone,” de Vera told a video-linked news conference on Monday morning.
He was joined by Philippine Sports Commission Chairman William Ramirez, Games and Amusements Board Chairman Abraham Khalil Mitra and Department of Health (DOH) Undersecretary Myrna Cabotaje. They make up the JAO group created by the IATF to supervise sports during the Covid-19 pandemic.
De Vera said the “stay-in” concept is suited for the so-called Higher Education Institutions that stage the University Athletic Association of the Philippines, National Collegiate Athletic Association and Private Schools Athletic Association, as well as the State Schools, Colleges and Universities Athletic Association.
De Vera said that under “stay-in” training, student athletes, coaches and personnel should be quartered in a dormitory or housing facility located within the school campus. He said no one will be allowed in and out of the “stay-in” facility and visits will be banned.
University of the Philippines Human Kinetics Dean Francisco Diaz, a member of the JAO group’s technical working group which crafted the guidelines, said that they designed stricter guidelines for the HEIs.
But de Vera said the group highly recommends online training among athletes and coaches.
“These guidelines will be submitted to the IATF this week and we hope stakeholders and administrators of universities can seriously implement them if they so desire to open up for training,” de Vera said.