Gordon College joins sports league

A new collegiate sports league has been organized, featuring more schools from around Metro Manila and even from cities as far away as Urdaneta in the north and Mandaue in the south.

The city of Marikina will host the first Association of Local Colleges and Universities Olympics (Alculympics) on January 19-23, a league official said in a statement.

Student athletes from 17 colleges and universities nationwide will battle in 14 sports events at the Marikina Sports Center, officials said.

Marcial Angeles, athletics chair of host school Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Marikina (PLMar, Marikina City College), said some of the featured sports are volleyball, basketball, table tennis, taekwondo, arnis and track and field.

Organized by the Association of Local Colleges and Universities, the tournament will have the theme, "Towards a Dynamic Culture of Sportsmanship."

Expected to grace the event are Senator Alan Peter Cayetano, Marikina Representative Marcelino Teodoro, Mayor Ma. Lourdes Fernando, and her husband, Metropolitan Manila Development Authority chairman Bayani Fernando.

Adel Tamano, president of ALCU and the Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila (PLM), and Dalisay Brawner, PLMar president, are also expected to attend.

Member schools from the metropolis are PLMar, PLM, Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Pasig, Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Taguig, Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Valenzuela, Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Muntinlupa, Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Pasay, City University of Malabon, University of Caloocan, Gat Andres Bonifacio University, and University of Makati.

From outside Metro Manila, the members are Pamantasan ng Cabuyao, Pamantasan ng Montalban, City College of Urdaneta, Gordon College in Olongapo, Lipa City Public College, and Mandaue College.

A highlight of the five-day event is the search for Miss Alculympics 2009, the league’s statement said. By DJ Yap - Philippine Daily Inquirer