LEADER-delegates from different participating Southeast Asian (SEA) countries have commended the Philippines for successfully hosting the 30th SEA Games in 2019, highlighting the country’s state-of-the-art facilities and the Filipinos’ professionalism and hospitality.
Reminiscing their own experiences, Committee officials from Singapore, Brunei, Malaysia, Thailand, and Indonesia expressed their appreciation to the Filipino organizers, staff members, and volunteers in a video message during the turnover ceremony on Wednesday (November 11) of the 30th SEA Games Final Report Book published by the Philippine SEA Games Organizing Committee (PHISGOC).
The 300-page book chronicles the efforts, passion, and perseverance of athletes, officials, volunteers, and other personnel who worked throughout the SEA Games journey.
Largest SEA Games in History
National Olympic Committee (NOC) Singapore Secretary General Chris Chan lauded PHISGOC, the Philippine Organizing Committee (POC), and the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) for hosting the “largest SEA Games ever.”
He said the country was able to hold the Games smoothly despite not having hosted a major sporting event in the last 14 years.
“Noting that this (30th SEA Games) has been the largest SEA Games ever with 56 sports and 530 events spread over three main clusters and other online areas, I would say it was a big job done very well,” Chan said.
He also recalled the “friendly and gracious” accommodation of the Filipinos.
“The smile of the Filipino people and warm hospitality everywhere we went and not just in the Games venue was the sunshine which overwhelmed the rain,” he said, referring to Typhoon Kammuri, known locally as Typhoon Tisoy, that hit the country shortly after the launch of the 2019 SEA Games.
Dato Nazifuddin of NOC Malaysia echoed Chan’s sentiment.
“We appreciate the SEA Games being the biggest in history, [which allowed] many sports to participate,” Nazifuddin said.
*State-of-the-Art Facilities and Outstanding Work Ethics*
Athletics Stadium and Aquatics Center Technical Director Ibrahim Nada commended the 2,000-seater state-of-the-art Aquatic Complex at the New Clark City, which hosted a total of 135 swimmers from 11 countries during the 30th SEA Games.
Nada said the the Complex is capable of hosting national and international swimming, diving, water polo, and artistic swimming competitions.
“I hope the New Clark City Aquatic Complex will inspire and motivate Filipino athletes and will have a favorable impact in their future performance and will raise the competition standard in the Philippines,” he said.
Nada said he was also impressed by the Filipinos’ work ethic.
“Technical officials, staff members, and volunteers performed with the highest degree of professionalism, clearly supporting the delegation members within the venue. They also provided the support required for an excellent event production,” he said.
Meanwhile, Harry Warganegara of NOC Indonesia and Kunihito Morimura, President and CEO of the Games’ public relations partner Dentsu Sports Asia, thanked the organizing committees and the Filipinos for their hospitality and professionalism.
“I really want to come back again to cheer for and to see the changes in the sports landscape in the Philippines,” Morimura said.
For his part, PHISGOC Chief Operating Officer Ramon Suzara said the success of the Games was a collective effort of every man and woman in the country’s SEA Games community: the athletes, the officials, the sponsors, the media, and even the spectators.
Suzara said the book, which will be submitted and delivered to the SEA Games Federation, represents “the hard work that we have all put together as one strong PHISGOC family.”###
