NCC ideal training camp for Tokyo-bound athletes

By Nick Giongco

The soon-to-be-opened New Clark City Stadium in Capas, Tarlac, which will serve as the main hub of the 30th Southeast Asian Games, can serve as an ideal place for training camp for foreign athletes bound for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

Equipped with legal performance-enhancing devices, the track oval’s practice range was installed with facilities designed “to help them excel in their sports and unlock their full potential,” said E-Sports International Managing Director Audris Romualdez.

E-Sports International was commissioned by MTD Philippines, the lead group that built the NCC, to install SmarTracks, an ultra-modern performance diagnostic system that accurately tracks and monitors an athletes’ performance by way of magnetic gates integrated within the track’s surface.

It enables documentation of activities in a variety of disciplines, according to E-Sports.

MTD Philippines chief Nikko David, through a teleconference call, said not only Filipino bets who have qualified for the Tokyo Olympics can avail of the NCC’s features.

“Starting March (2020), they can spend training camp here and use the facilities before going to the Olympics. The weather conditions in Tokyo during that time is similar to our weather,” he said, adding that foreign athletes will find the facilities at par with the rest of the world that have them but not as expensive.

There are only about 30 stadiums worldwide that have SmarTracks, making the NCC as the only one in the country that has them.

The Tokyo Olympics runs from July 24 to August 9.

The NCC will have its baptism of fire next week when the SEAG formally opens although some Filipino athletes have actually tested the facilities during a test event held there a few weeks ago.

Source: Manila Bulletin