Most people would think that athletes are just limited to sports but it is a difference

case for Gretchen Ho. After her career in UAAP as a part of Ateneo Women’s Volleyball team,
she is slowly making her mark in the media industry. She is now a co-host in the morning show
of Umagang Kay Ganda. In Ho’s interview (2017), she said that she still commits a mistake in
the morning show but her mindset is to improve and always be the better version of herself,
just like an athlete. What’s more impressive though, is that having a busy schedule is not a
hindrance for the former Lady Eagle to stay fit and in shape.

If you google the name Cristiano Ronaldo, you would see that he is often ranked as one
of the best players in the world. His journey from a poor boy to stardom is really motivating but
aside from that, he is also a humanitarian. In 2005, he helped an Indonesian Tsunami survivor,
Martunis by raising funds and paying for his education. He also helped a 10-month old baby
named Erik Cruz who happened to have a brain disorder and needed an operation. Erik’s
parents only asked for football shirt to be auctioned to raise funds but Ronaldo paid for the
treatment instead (Slevison, 2014). He invited Syrian refugees to Spain and gave them a job. His
golden shoe was donated for 1.5 million euros to raise funds in building schools in Gaza. In
addition to that, the reason why he refrains from having a tattoo is because he donates blood
very often (Rizvi, 2016). Indeed, he is a phenomenal player with a big heart.

Ho, G. (2017, January 1). Gretchen Ho says values learned as athlete help her cope with
demands of TV work. (M. Lozada, Interviewer). Retrieved from
http://www.spin.ph/volleyball/special-reports/gretchen-ho-values-from-playing-career-
transition-well-to-hosting
Rizvi, S. (2016). How Cristiano Ronaldo Is An Inspiration To Us All. Retrieved from
https://www.parhlo.com/how-cristiano-ronaldo-is-an-inspiration-to-us-all/
Slevison, A. (2014). CHRISTIANO RONALDO: the amazing charity work of Real Madrid’s
superstar. Retrieved from http://www.tribalfootball.com/articles/cristiano-ronaldo-amazing-
charity-work-real-madrids-superstar-4053752

Early in January, the International Olympic Committee renewed the requirement,

stating that sex reassignment surgery is unnecessary as long as trans women must complete a
at least two years of Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) before being eligible to compete
meanwhile, trans men are still allowed to compete (Ziegler, 2016). The assumption that trans
women have advantages has been backed up by just a very few scientific researches. HRT
involves testosterone blocking drug plus an estrogen supplement. Trans women undergoing
HRT affects the body by decreasing muscle mass and bone density, while the estrogen boosts
fat redistribution around the hips. These changes affect the athleticism of a person due to loss
of speed, strength and endurance (Harper, 2015).

Joanna Harper, a trans distance runner published a study in 2015 claiming that HRT
actually makes a male-to-female road runners slower. Based on her personal experience, she
found out that she became 12% slower in running events after a year of undergoing HRT.
Harper J. (2015). Do transgender athletes have an edge? I sure don’t. Retrieved from
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/do-transgender-athletes-have-an-edge-i-sure-
dont/2015/04/01/ccacb1da-c68e-11e4-b2a1-
bed1aaea2816_story.html?utm_term=.93d38476e2ed

Zeigler C. (2016). Exclusive: Read the Olympic’s new transgender guidelines that will not
mandate surgery. Retrieved from
https://www.outsports.com/2016/1/21/10812404/transgender-ioc-policy-new-olympics

In the old curriculum, MAPEH (Music, Arts, Physical Education, and Health) only starts in
grade 4 but in the new curriculum, students are introduced to MAPEH as early as grade 1 (Cruz,
2012). After scanning, the new curriculum focuses on fitness and movement education. It has
also a step by step learning approaches for the learners to appreciate physical education more
by answering the “what”, “why” and “how” of the movements in early grades while in higher
grades, the “why” of the movement is being taught. These changes imply that physical
education is given importance. However, even if there will be a lot of revisions of the
curriculum but no implementation, it’s only useless.

Lack of funds is the primary problem. The use of a variety of instruments, tools and
facilities to teach Physical Education is needed. This tells us that the only way the Physical
Education system to develop is when we already have a stable economy.

Isagani Cruz The new curriculum http://www.philstar.com/education-and-

home/764547/new-curriculum

I tried to search for nonprofit organizations in sports but I only found one: Youth Sports
Advocacy (YSA) which is composed of individuals willing to share their passion and skills about
sports to the youth (YSA, 2015). When I searched for nonprofit organizations in sports abroad, I
found a lot especially in England. Volunteering in sports is a famous activity in England. For
youth, volunteering would allow them to develop their skills. For adults, volunteering is
somehow a way for the to support their passion in sports and for older volunteers who can no
longer play, it’s their way of still getting involved. Whatever the age range, they volunteer for
different motivations and rewards (Nichols et al., 2016). Perhaps the reason why the Philippines
is not that involved in volunteering in sports is because most of us think that we won’t get any
reward from it that’s why we don’t have the motivation to do it.
There are a lot of nonprofit organization in the country. However, mostly are education
and health related because being in a third world country, our priority is alleviating poverty.
Filipinos think that playing sport is a leisure activity and we think that it is a waste of time to
volunteer into something you won’t get any benefit. For us, volunteering is the least priority.
Since it’s weak in the country, it may hinder in the progress or development of Philippine sport.
It has a negative effect especially for those who are gifted but do not have access in playing.

Nichols G., Hogg E., and Storr R. (2016). Motivations in Sport Volunteers in England.
Retrieved from https://www.sportengland.org/media/10205/motivations-of-sport-
volunteers.pdf
Youth Sports Advocacy. (2015). OUR MISSION. Retrieved from
http://youthsportsadvocacy.wixsite.com/ysainc/about-us