Fair Play: Things I learned in Boracay
HAD quite a busy day last Sunday.
I had coffee and a bit of breakfast in Boracay, took a pee in Caticlan, had lunch in Kalibo, dinner at the Mall of Asia and slept in Cebu.
I wasn’t alone though, I was with five other Cebu media men and women, returning home from the Nestea Fit Beach Volleyball coverage.
No, scratch that. It wasn’t a coverage, it was a paid vacation.
You cover a Palarong Pambansa, or the Southeast Asian Games. You go on vacation for the Nestea finals in Boracay.
But going home was a bitch. It seems we spent half the day queuing. We lined up to get breakfast, lunch, dinner, to get on the plane, get off the plane, get a cab, to check our bags in, get our bags.
Still, we had it easy. To get home, Davao players flew from Caticlan to Cebu, Cebu to Manila, then Manila to Davao.
I also had a busy day last Saturday.
I spent the last night of the Nestea Fit Beach Volleyball Finals stalking celebrities for a photo. When I ran out of celebrities, any pretty chick in Boracay was fair play.
Dancing ladies on the ledge? Click! Click! Click! Hot blonde in a killer “is that a bikini?” Click! Click!
I even approached a lifestyle writer from the Philippine Star, Rebecca Rodriguez, for a photo, since she could have put the other celebrities in Boracay to shame. She was also very nice and game about the unwanted attention.
Lest you think all I ever did in the final day was imbibe. I didn’t. I also learned some interesting tidbits.
Like how one player approached a celebrity with a camera, not to take a photo of that celebrity, but to ask him to take a photo of her and her friend.
“I didn’t know he was famous,” was how that player explained that incident.
I also learned that Cebu chess players live like paupers in tournaments outside Cebu.
Last Saturday night, I met a Major Backer of chess in Davao and he told me an interesting tale.
Davao is trying to have its first grandmaster and to do that, their best player must compete in big tournaments all over the country.
To help The Player, Major Backer sends him in big tournaments and takes care of his accommodation. All The Player has to do, is concentrate on his game.
In contrast, strong Cebuanos like a local International Master live in P100 dorms, five or six to a room, with no door locks.
“Luoy kaayo ang taga Cebu uy,” the Backer said. “Murag mga pulubi.”
In one tournament, Cebuano IM finished third, while The Player was fifth.
Once, Major Backer took pity of the Cebuano IM and also got him a hotel room.
“He scored five straight wins,” he said. “It’s really different if all you have to concentrate on is your game.”
There’s a couple of big tournaments in Subic later this month and Major Backer will again be helping The Player as he tries to complete his IM norms, while Cebuano IM could earn his final two GM norms should he perform well in Subic. That is, if he can join the events.
“____________ is very good,” he said. “It’s a pity he just doesn’t get any support.”
I told him that Cebu City already had a team for chess. But then again, that team couldn’t defend its national title because, according to the Cebu City Sports Commission, funds couldn’t be released on time.
“Ayaw nang puro ra storya, mas ma-ayo nang backer nga musuporta gyud,” he said.
That reminded me of the case of Team Cebu City Softball. Like the chess team, it was the defending champion in a national tournament. Like the chess team, it didn’t get its money on time and didn’t get to defend its title. Worse, the members were left scrambling for leftover noodles from the other teams to sate their hunger.
And like the chess team, nothing was heard of them after their failed title defense.
I had coffee and a bit of breakfast in Boracay, took a pee in Caticlan, had lunch in Kalibo, dinner at the Mall of Asia and slept in Cebu.
I wasn’t alone though, I was with five other Cebu media men and women, returning home from the Nestea Fit Beach Volleyball coverage.
No, scratch that. It wasn’t a coverage, it was a paid vacation.
You cover a Palarong Pambansa, or the Southeast Asian Games. You go on vacation for the Nestea finals in Boracay.
But going home was a bitch. It seems we spent half the day queuing. We lined up to get breakfast, lunch, dinner, to get on the plane, get off the plane, get a cab, to check our bags in, get our bags.
Still, we had it easy. To get home, Davao players flew from Caticlan to Cebu, Cebu to Manila, then Manila to Davao.
I also had a busy day last Saturday.
I spent the last night of the Nestea Fit Beach Volleyball Finals stalking celebrities for a photo. When I ran out of celebrities, any pretty chick in Boracay was fair play.
Dancing ladies on the ledge? Click! Click! Click! Hot blonde in a killer “is that a bikini?” Click! Click!
I even approached a lifestyle writer from the Philippine Star, Rebecca Rodriguez, for a photo, since she could have put the other celebrities in Boracay to shame. She was also very nice and game about the unwanted attention.
Lest you think all I ever did in the final day was imbibe. I didn’t. I also learned some interesting tidbits.
Like how one player approached a celebrity with a camera, not to take a photo of that celebrity, but to ask him to take a photo of her and her friend.
“I didn’t know he was famous,” was how that player explained that incident.
I also learned that Cebu chess players live like paupers in tournaments outside Cebu.
Last Saturday night, I met a Major Backer of chess in Davao and he told me an interesting tale.
Davao is trying to have its first grandmaster and to do that, their best player must compete in big tournaments all over the country.
To help The Player, Major Backer sends him in big tournaments and takes care of his accommodation. All The Player has to do, is concentrate on his game.
In contrast, strong Cebuanos like a local International Master live in P100 dorms, five or six to a room, with no door locks.
“Luoy kaayo ang taga Cebu uy,” the Backer said. “Murag mga pulubi.”
In one tournament, Cebuano IM finished third, while The Player was fifth.
Once, Major Backer took pity of the Cebuano IM and also got him a hotel room.
“He scored five straight wins,” he said. “It’s really different if all you have to concentrate on is your game.”
There’s a couple of big tournaments in Subic later this month and Major Backer will again be helping The Player as he tries to complete his IM norms, while Cebuano IM could earn his final two GM norms should he perform well in Subic. That is, if he can join the events.
“____________ is very good,” he said. “It’s a pity he just doesn’t get any support.”
I told him that Cebu City already had a team for chess. But then again, that team couldn’t defend its national title because, according to the Cebu City Sports Commission, funds couldn’t be released on time.
“Ayaw nang puro ra storya, mas ma-ayo nang backer nga musuporta gyud,” he said.
That reminded me of the case of Team Cebu City Softball. Like the chess team, it was the defending champion in a national tournament. Like the chess team, it didn’t get its money on time and didn’t get to defend its title. Worse, the members were left scrambling for leftover noodles from the other teams to sate their hunger.
And like the chess team, nothing was heard of them after their failed title defense.
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