By CYRUS M. GARDE
BACOLOD City — Starting this year, futsal will be included in the Negros Occidental Private Schools Sports, Cultural and Education Association (Nopsscea) Meet events.
While the five-A-side indoor soccer tournament is a demonstration sport in Palarong Pambansa, it is expected to become a regular event in the annual private schools sports competitions.
Five member-schools already enlisted participation in the girls’ division, according to Ericson Rios, assistant to the chairman of the committee on sports, Dr. Ervie Emelda Gallespin of Riverside College.
Nopsscea will open Season 24 next month at the University of Saint La Salle–Bacolod.
Meanwhile, Rios said beach volleyball for college men’s and women’s divisions will be played this semester instead of the second semester as observed in previous Nopsscea seasons.
Forty-five schools will compete in basketball, 26 in football and 60 in volleyball, Rios said. These sporting events are most popular in Nopsscea.
Nopsscea has already designated sports tournament managers to oversee the tournament.
They were George Acot of Bacolod City for basketball, Efren Timtiman of Negros Occidental Volleyball Association for volleyball, Dennis Estaniel of Department of Education and Negros Occidental Football Association for football, Jyan Rome Bascar of Carlos Hilado Memorial State College for badminton, and Eddie Rodriguez of Pontevedra Tennis Club for tennis.
Others were Hosea Alvarez of Lopue’s Table Tennis Association for table tennis, Edwin Subong of Department of Education for sepak takraw, Tessie Ongkee of St. Scholastica’s Academy for swimming, Elena Roma of Negros Occidental Track and Field Association for athletics, Harny Tabuada of Department of Education for Tae Kwon Do, and Bro. Mario Dacanay, FSC, of University of Saint La Salle for karatedo.
Edwin Llamo of National Chess Federation of the Philippines will replace the chess arbiter, Kim Dumdum, who died just this May 24, for chess.
Nopsscea observes the Department of Education’s age cutoff for student/pupil athletes: those in high school must have been born May 15, 1997 or later, while those in elementary, May 15, 2002 or later./PN
