UAAP Season 83 opening to align with school resumption

MANILA, Philippines – Fans of the UAAP will have to wait a bit more longer for the start of Season 83. 

After an unceremonious end to its last season, the league broke its silence on what lies ahead by declaring that Season 83 will not start until the country’s education system goes back to normal. 

“Aside from government directives which are general applications, aside from the PSC pronouncements, we also have CHED and DepEd to contend with,” said UAAP executive director Rebo Saguisag at the Philippine Sportswriters Association (PSA) Forum on Tuesday, June 16. 

“Meaning, as long as the school year is not normal – of course we already have a plan – but we really have to have a higher standard. That’s our approach for now. We’re dependent on the school year being normal.”

“At the end of the day, these are enrolled students. Without enrollment and enrolled students, how can we have the UAAP?” added outgoing UAAP president Emmanuel Fernandez. 

This means that the league is staying firm on staging an opening not earlier than January 2021, per earlier reports. (READ: September UAAP opening looks unlikely, league officials say)

The Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) also gave a clear “no vaccine, no sports events” rule last April 29. 

The UAAP is also not setting in stone any form of sports calendar for Season 83 host De La Salle University to accommodate whatever new directives may come later on from sports and education authorities. 

“We are planning to have a full calendar but that’s dependent on the government and the schools themselves,” Fernandez said. “These are students. Normalcy in the schools will take precedent.” 

“If school is held normally either online or face-to-face, maybe we can talk about UAAP sports.” 

In comparison, the NCAA already limited its calendar to just 4 mandatory sports, namely basketball, volleyball, swimming and track and field. 

“We have all these plans of a full calendar but it is hard to get assurance,” Saguisag added. “Even though it’s allowed, it doesn’t necessarily mean that we should hold it.” – Rappler.com