THE Philippine Athletics Track and Field Association (PATAFA) has set the stage for the Ayala National Championships slated Dec. 9 and 10 at the PhilSports track and field oval in Pasig City.
PATAFA President Philip Ella Juico said the two-day meet would serve as a big part of the selection process for the national team seeing action in Hanoi Southeast Asian (SEA) Games and the Hangzhou Asian Games next year.
Apart from competing in the national squad tryout, the former Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) chairman stressed the need for aspiring athletes to meet certain standards in the SEA Games (SEAG) and Asiad (Asian Games) to make the cut.
Over 160 aspirants are expected to plunge into action that included 60 members of the national pool currently undergoing high-altitude training in Baguio City.
They are expected to arrive on Nov. 28 at PhilSports where they will be billeted.
Asian and national pole vault record-holder Ernest John Obiena and several Fil-foreign athletes based abroad headed by Olympians and SEA Games gold medalists Kristina Knott and Eric Cray will remain in the national team even though they wouldn’t be able to join.
Mr. Obiena is currently training in Formia, Italy while Knott and Cray are in the United States.
Also keeping their national slots are US-based William Morrison, Zion Corrales Nelson, twins Kyla and Kayla Richardson and brothers Yacine and Said Guarmali.
The Nationals, which was last held two years ago in Ilagan, Isabela, set last year was postponed due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. — Joey Villar