The ongoing 26th Season of the Philippine University Games in Bacolod City is significant, especially to sports lovers, because of its contribution to the growth of grassroot sports and its being an avenue for athletes in the provinces to showcase and further hone their athletic skills.
Having been requested by Unigames officials to help its media arm for the games this year, I, despite my health issues and physical condition, readily accepted the call to do the job which I handled since Unigames was founded in 1996 until 2015, except for those years when it was held outside of Bacolod City.
The launch of the games at the Capitol early this month was a special day for me for two reasons.
It was the first time that I engaged in media-related work outside the confines of my private space by moderating the press conference.
Second, the occasion gave me an opportunity to reconnect ties with friends I have made through the years in my journey in sports journalism, a field I explored out of newsroom necessity.
My prime time in community journalism proved to be the era when local media audiences were introduced to the daily fare of professional reporting of sporting events. I branched into sports journalism in addition to my tasks as editor in chief of the daily paper since no one in the staff knew how to cover sports, then a relatively irregular content in the local media menu.
Little then did I realize that it would pave the way for, among others, interesting travel experiences in Palarong Pambansa and PRISAA venues in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao.
I also had the opportunity to go beyond national borders through Southeast Asian Games and also the Little League World Softball Series coverages.
The event early this month was a much-welcome occasion to renew bonds with sports personalities and media colleagues assigned to the sports beat most of whom I haven’t seen face-to-face since the COVID-19 days and after a stroke partly disabled me four years ago.
My social reconnections included Unigames officials Br. Felipe Belleza FSC, Coach Roger Banzuela and my dear friend, Malot Lozada, who were my colleagues then at St. La Salle, where I taught for over 20 years before retirement 10 years ago.
It was a pleasant moment seeing again also some Unigames tournament managers and game officials, including Elena Roma, John Carmona, Cris Bancal, Lilibeth Castor and Viczi Ramos as well as Sir Dennis Estaniel, principal of Graciano Lopez Jaena ES, where my outreach involvement in its Madrasah classroom has continued through the years .
Missed in a gathering of this kind was former provincial sports officer Efren Timtiman, long-time Unigames volleyball tournament manager until he and wife, Sally, moved to California more than a decade ago. I am writing about Efren soon, detailing his Unigames recollections and involvement.
Likewise, it was great talking once more with Tony Oquindo, whose unsnapped golden exploits in girls’ softball coaching for over 10 years I covered as a sports writer and editor. Tony and I had been in touch lately, exchanging inspirational messages only through the social media.
Being in the same room again with sports media colleagues James Toga, Mymy Alagaban, Henceboy Cestina and Toots Jimenez made me recall those good old sports coverage and camaraderie days.
I felt the warm reception, too, of former students Dinah Callejas and Alaine Borja and the Capitol PIO staff along with Karen Dinsay, who is in charge of Unigames concerns in the Capitol.
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After a long absence from sports journalism work, I have been given the opportunity by the Lord to be back to active sports writing work, thanks to digital technology, with tasks, including midnight rushes to make sure that the day’s events are posted and published on time as much as possible. Beating deadlines is something that, I just realized, I’ve been missing for some time.
Of course my present column and feature writing can be time consuming and, at times, stressful but the challenge is not as excitingly demanding as what is required in sports media management – something that appears to still rejuvenate me at this stage if my life. Perhaps, it’s because of the thrill called Unigames. Thanks to Bro. Felipe, Coach Roger and Malot!
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Oct. 24-30 is a special time for many of us as it has been designated by the United Nations as Global Media and Information Literacy Day.
The week’s activities are focused on the theme, “Minds Over AI – MIL in Digital Spaces.”
The need for a stronger media literacy becomes more existent with the integration of AI technologies into our way of life.
UN reiterated that the focus of the observance “is on ensuring that human judgment, ethics, and critical awareness guide the use and interpretation of AI in our media landscapes.”
AI, in ushering us into previously uncharted horizons, is bringing about changes that may be overwhelming but, hopefully, beneficial to us without overpowering the values of mankind that we have long-cherished.
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Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might. (Ecclesiastes 9:10) | NWI
