THOUGH it welcomes the holding of another weightlifting tournament in Cebu, the Cebu Weightlifting Association (CWA) is clarifying that it is not involved with the 2018 National Open 6-in-1 Weightlifting Championships being held at SM Seaside City.
CWA president Felix Tiukinhoy issued the clarification through a press release after social media posts surfaced of how some athletes competing in the said tournament are complaining about being billeted like “refugees” at the Sawang Calero gym.
“We always welcome another weightlifting tournament because it is for the good of the sport, dili man ni exclusive ato (It is not exclusive to us),” said Tiukinhoy, who is also the commissioner of the Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation Inc.(Cesafi).
“However, ato ra i-klaro nga wala mi labot ana kay daghan nag-reklamo. Basi ma- ‘guilty by geography’ mi.”
(However, we want to clarify that we are not involved with that competition because there are a lot of complaints about it. We might be accused ‘guilty by geography.’)
Cathy Claire Danao Jaluag, in a Facebook post, complained about the poor billeting quarters in the gymnasium of the Cebu City Sports Institute, likening it to an ‘evacuation center.’
But the issue was already resolved, as Philippine Weightlifters Association Inc. Chairman Mark Aliño said it was all because of poor coordination that led to the oversight.
The ongoing tournament is organized by the Samahang Weightlifting ng Pilipinas, a new group that seeks to supplant the Philippine Weightlifting Association.
Tiukinhoy said he was forced to issue the clarification since the CWA has also organized and will continue to organize national tournaments with support from corporate backers, some of whom have asked him if CWA is involved in the ongoing event.
For the good of weightlifting
“We have sponsors and friends who support, believe our cause and also help us out silently. If they see the posts, they might think that is how we treat our guests. Basi dili na sila musupport namo (They might not continue supporting us),” he said.
“We will also be sending invitations to weightlifters all over the country and they might not come back to Cebu because of this experience.”
CWA recently staged the National Students Weightlifting championships, where they sent the champions to an international tournament.
Tiukinhoy maintained, though, that he does welcome tournaments like this for as long as it is for the good of the sport of weightlifting.
“We wish the organizers all the best in their event and we hope it will be successful and that the concerns raised will be addressed.”