Chancellor Murao expressed her appreciation for the alignment of both UPMin’s and the PSC’s directions.
“Our sports programs are in support of the Davao City-UP Sports Complex. We want to upgrade it, and we feel that the most sustainable way to do that is through our academic programs,” she said.
UPMin presently offers the Associate in Arts in Sports Studies, the Bachelor of Sports Science, the Diploma in Exercise and Sports Science, and the Master of Science in Human Movement Sciences, she said.
“We want to build an ecosystem for sports, starting with secondary schools that will serve as feeders to our sports programs and varsity teams all the way to sports meets, which will be our beneficiaries,” she said.
She reported that UPMin presently has feeder arrangements with the National Academy of Sports and sports track agreements with two national high schools: Calinan National High School and AL Navarro National High School. These UPMin efforts have developed medalists for arnis and a national athlete for archery.
UP Mindanao also sought the PSC Chairman’s support for the House of Representatives Bill 6143, named “The Mindanao Sports Development Training and Research Institute,” which the chairman agreed to take up in his upcoming meeting with some congressmen.
The PSC Chairman also expressed support for the creation of the UP Mindanao College of Sports and Human Movement Sciences.
The UPMin and PSC delegations also discussed the current UPMin sports events, among which are football, volleyball, swimming, table tennis, badminton, and chess, to which the PSC chair suggested adding more from among the 75 sports that the PSC supports.
The PSC team also asked UPMin to promote indigenous games and arnis.UPMin took the opportunity to showcase its successful Arnis program and through the Arnis Sports Academy. The UPMin Arnis team has won medals in various events and has been supported by Senator Miguel Zubiri.
UP Mindanao supports the development of Mindanao sports through sports education. These programs are anchored to the Sustainable Development Goals on Good Health and Well-being, Quality Education, and Partnership for the Goals, among others.
Written by Rene Estremera, Public Relations Officer, UP Mindanao Edited by Angela Sucaldito, Junior Media Production Assistant, UP Mindanao