By: Bjorn Del Deade
The National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) will explore the possibility of introducing new sports events to the league by staging two sports festivals in the first and second semesters of Season 100.
NCAA Season 100 Management Committee chairman from Lyceum of the Philippines University Hercules Calanta said that the sports festivals would feature events such as powerlifting, sports climbing, obstacle sports, arnis, wushu, karate, and esports.
Calanta mentioned that these festivals would be a good start for the NCAA’s expansion into newer and more popular sports events.
“These sports are potential honor earners in the world,” the chairman said. “We are not closing our doors to them, but you know there’s quite a lengthy process to adopt or add a sport to the NCAA calendar of events.
“It’s best for us to first introduce it and test the waters in terms of its patronage.”
This season, the NCAA will feature men’s and women’s volleyball, taekwondo, badminton, table tennis, swimming, street dance, beach volleyball, juniors’ basketball, football, lawn tennis, volleyball fiesta, soft tennis, 3×3 basketball, track and field, and cheerleading.
Last week, Calanta expressed the league’s openness to introducing two more sports: powerlifting and gymnastics. These sports have gained popularity in recent years, thanks to Olympic gold medalists Carlos Yulo and Hidilyn Diaz.
According to the chairman, NCAA athletes already competing in other sports who intend to venture into the new events can participate in the sports festivals.
“As we all know, sports do not have to be very specific. In fact, if you venture into other events, you end up gaining some of the benefits and advantages of other events, especially when it comes to injury prevention and long-term participation,” Calanta said.
In celebration of its centennial season, the NCAA has revealed plans to change its age of eligibility.
By Season 102, the maximum age will be reduced by one year, meaning the juniors tournament will be an 18-and-under tournament while seniors events will be 24-and-under.
However, until Season 101, the maximum age limit will remain the same, as Calanta stressed the importance of a transition period for teams.
“We need to make sure that all schools will be able to keep up with the change in maximum age limit, so it’s important that we give them time to adjust,” he said.
