MANILA, Philippines – The goal is for Catbalogan City to become the home of bemedalled swimmers. The vision is for kids to gain potential livelihood through sports. Most importantly, the hope is for children to have the impetus to strive for something more.
Catbalogan City aspires to fulfill all those and more with the construction of a floating swimming pool for young athletes located in the middle of a cluster of islands where 6 barangays can access it.
Cristito A. Eco, the schools division superintendent of Catbalogan City, is adopting the idea of a floating pool out at sea first realized in Panabo City, Davao del Norte last year. The 46-year-old Eco was with Rappler when we visited and featured the first pool during the 2015 Palarong Pambansa.
He said he was inspired by that grassroots initiative and immediately planned to push for the construction of at least one floating pool in Northern Samar, his original assignment. His proposal had already been acknowledged by the school board but he was transferred to another division in Catbalogan City, taking his project pitch with him.
According to Eco, the Catbalogan City school board and mayor have already approved the re-alignment of the budget, and construction will begin after the elections, once the procurement ban is lifted.
Like the one in Panabo, this floating pool will also cost P400,000.
'They know they can be somebody in swimming without spending.'
– Cristito A. Eco, schools division superintendent of Catbalogan City
“It’s not expensive, not much maintenance and it’s affordable for small LGUs,” Eco told Rappler in Filipino during the 2016 Palarong Pambansa in Legazpi City last month. “To teach the kids the basics of swimming you no longer need to look for a swimming pool that’s high-end where you really have to spend to contruct it. Considering also the topography of the place, we have plenty of seas so it’s very feasible.”
Catbalogan’s version of the floating pool will have some improvements, however, that includes a submerged wall long enough for swimmers to kick when doing laps.
“That’s what they did not have in Mindanao,” Eco pointed out. “It will be underneath the water, still floating together with the frame, and it will be smooth.”
Harnessing talent
Eco strongly believes in the potential of kids from Catbalogan City, and that was critical in convincing concerned officials to appropriate budget for the project. He cited the city’s commendable second place finish in elementary swimming during the Eastern Visayas regional meet last January.
“The children performed well in swimming. Despite the fact that we don’t have a swimming pool or facilities,” he said. “I told them Catbalogan City’s performance would likely improve if we have that kind of facility.”
Similar to the kids being trained in Panabo, those in Catbalogan are also natural swimmers due to the proximity of their homes to the sea. Most already have the basics but need structure and discipline.
The need for a facility and proper training is bolstered by the lack of medals in all divisions for the Eastern Visayas region at this year’s Palaro swimming competitions. As many expected, 12-time overall champion National Capital Region hauled most of the swimming medals.
Some of the Eastern Visayas swimmers had to travel out of town to train for Palaro, according to Eco. And even then they still did not have a regulation pool.
“It was a river with current,” he shared. “Though it has better impact on their speed and endurance.”
As with most multi-sporting events such as the Palaro, the key to winning the general title is to perform well in medal-rich sports that include swimming. Eco presented that prospect to city officials, explaining how the city, and eventually region, can potentially harvest more medals with minimal investment – compared to heavily ploughing funds into team sports that correspond to one medal.
“There are 14 medals for girls, 14 for boys, and that’s for elementary and high school,” Eco said. “I think if we focus on this they have potential, and the city’s performance in the regional overall sports ranking will improve.”
And similar to DavNor swim coach Mustari Raji, the brains behind the floating pool concept, Eco is determined to develop children’s potentials in all aspects of their lives.
“I believe teaching students the basics of swimming and other sports will help them develop a wholistic personality,” Eco said. “There is really plenty of potential for swimming in our place, it’s just nobody provides facilities. Nobody’s looking for a way to train them.”
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Sustainable sports program
The floating pool in itself, on top of producing medalists and gunning for city sports glory, is not enough for Eco. He is targeting incentive programs, collaborations among local sports organizations, and rolling quality tournaments for student-athletes to hone their skills.
He is currently putting together the swimming program for athletes once the pool is up and running, then he will look to establish tie-ups with resort owners around the pool’s area for maintenance purposes.
The rewards and incentives program – an ordinance Eco himself studied, wrote, and proposed in 3 months – is already part of the city council’s agenda. It will take effect immediately once approved.
The program aims to motivate both athletes and coaches when they compete through cash incentives for every medal won, and every medalist produced. It will apply to regional, national, and international tournaments. Should it push through, the ordinance will be the first of its kind in the city.
Another project – and Eco’s personal advocacy – is converging private local sports organizations to form one umbrella group with a detailed, sustained program for various sports that include tennis, basketball, swimming, etc. The goal is to support the Department of Education in uplifting sports in the city and the region.
“Let’s admit it, our DepEd has no facilities. But these private organizations, they have facilities like Catbalogan City’s tennis association, which has very good facilities,” Eco explained. “If we are able to organize them and establish a link with them, the student-athletes’ trainings can be done at their facilities.”
There have already been two convergence meetings presided by Eco where the organizations have committed to hold tournaments, not only for adults but for elementary and high school students, that comply with the standards and qualifications of Palarong Pambansa.
A board has also been established and they will register at the Securities and Exchange Commission to formalize the organization.
Eco is not a coach. He’s simply a lover of sports. Yet he has a passion matched by few, and a vision he fully intends to see through to realization.
His projects address not only an immediate future at the surface of sports and athletes, but also a life for kids beyond the games.
“First, they will be inspired to venture into swimming. Second, they know they can be somebody in swimming without spending. Third, they live in islands. They innately love the sea,” he said thoughtfully, emphasizing how many kids in Catbalogan City tend not to go to high school because they need to work to help the family.
“By putting up that facility, they will be more encouraged to focus on that and develop their skills. In the future, when they win, it can become a source of livelihood.” – Rappler.com