Filipinos proud of RP athletes playing in Olympics

by Elizer Penaranda Fri Aug 08, 2008 12:45 am

DESPITE ELUSIVE GOLD:
Filipinos proud of RP athletes playing in Olympics -- SWS

By Kate V. Pedroso
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 20:59:00 08/07/2008

MANILA, Philippines�The Philippines may not have won a single gold medal since the Olympics games were first played more than a hundred years ago, but an overwhelming number of Filipinos believe it is �very important� for the country to compete in the Beijing Games opening Friday, a survey shows.

Also, nine out of 10 Filipinos felt proud when the country did well in international sports competitions, results of the Social Weather Stations survey released on Thursday showed.

Fifteen Filipinos are competing in the Beijing Olympiad.

Since the Games were first played in 1896 in Athens, seven Filipinos have won bronze medals while two�featherweight boxer Anthony Villanueva in Tokyo in 1964 and light-flyweight boxer Mansueto Velasco Jr. in Atlanta in 1996�have come home with silvers.

If boxing, basketball and billiards seemed to be the most popular sports in the country, it might be because they were also the most promoted ones, an SWS official said.

On the question �How important is it for the Philippines to compete for as many medals as possible at the 2008 Olympics in China,� 67 percent said it was �very important� and 24 percent said it was �somewhat important.�

Seven percent said it was �not very important� while two percent said it was �not at all important.�

In Metro Manila, 78 percent said it was very important for the Philippines to compete for medals in Beijing.

Sixty-eight percent held the same view in the rest of Luzon outside Metro Manila, 63 percent in the Visayas and 62 percent in Mindanao.

The same view was expressed by 74 percent in class ABC, 68 percent in Class E and 66 percent in Class D.

�The more the effect of sports on pride, the more the importance given to competing in the Olympics,� SWS noted.

The survey was conducted from March 30 to April 2 using face-to-face interviews with randomly selected 1,200 adults divided into samples of 300 each in Metro Manila, the rest of Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao. It had a margin of error of plus-minus three percentage points.

About three in every four (74 percent) said they were �very proud� when asked how proud they were whenever the Philippines did well in international competitions, while another 19 percent said they were �somewhat proud.�

Five percent said they were not very proud, while two percent said they were not proud at all.

Majority of Filipinos across all areas and socioeconomic classes were very proud of the country�s international sports achievements�82 percent in Metro Manila, 77 percent in Luzon outside Metro Manila, 69 percent in Mindanao and 67 percent in the Visayas.

The same sentiment was true for 81 percent of Class ABC, 75 percent among Class E and 73 percent among Class D.

Of those who said they were �very proud� of the country�s accomplishments in international sports, 76 percent said it was important to compete in the Olympics.

The importance of competing in the Olympics was lower among those who were only �somewhat proud� (46 percent) and �not very/not at all proud� (35 percent).

The sports survey found that among member-associations of the Philippine Olympic Committee, the Amateur Boxing Association of the Philippines, the BAP (Basketball Association of the Philippines)-Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas and the Billiards and Snooker Congress of the Philippines were the most cited as �doing well in promoting sports.�

Respondents were shown a list of all 38 associations of the Philippine Olympic Committee and were asked to name up to three associations they thought were �doing very well� in promoting and supporting Philippine sports.

Twenty-seven percent mentioned the Amateur Boxing Association of the Philippines, 26 percent cited the BAP-Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas, while 10 percent mentioned the Billiards and Snooker Congress of the Philippines.

About one in three (34 percent) had no answer, while 3 percent answered �none.�

Other associations cited by 2 to 4 percent of respondents included the Philippine Karatedo Federation (4 percent); Gymnastics Association of the Philippines (4 percent); Philippine Football Federation (3 percent); National Golf Association of the Philippines (3 percent); Philippine Tennis Association (3 percent); National Archery Association of the Philippines (2 percent); Philippine Federation of Bodybuilders Inc. (2 percent); and Philippine Dragon Boat Federation (2 percent).

Other associations which received fewer mentions were: the Amateur Softball Association of the Philippines (1 percent); Table Tennis Association of the Philippines (1 percent); Philippine Amateur Judo Association (1 percent); Philippine National Shooting Association (1 percent); Integrated Cycling Federation of the Philippines (1 percent); Philippine Amateur Fencers Association (1 percent); Philippine Amateur Sepak Takraw Association (1 percent); Philippine Lawn Bowls Association (1 percent); Wrestling Association of the Philippines (1 percent);

Amateur Soft Tennis Association (0.5 percent); Amateur Rowing Association of the Philippines (0.4 percent); Philippine Sailing Association (0.3 percent); Philippine Canoe-Kayak Federation (0.3 percent); Philippine Weightlifting Association (0.3 percent); Equestrian Association of the Philippines (0.3 percent); and Wushu Federation of the Philippines (0.1 percent).