Excitements have turned into disappointments for the student-athletes of Mindanao State University - General Santos (MSU-GSC), as the institution was not able to join the recently concluded annual Mindanao Association of State Tertiary Schools (MASTS) Friendship Games 2023. It is unflattering how state universities across Mindanao geared up whilst MSU-GSC, the biggest and only state university in GSC, skipped the games. Evidently, the administration chose not to give external sports competitions importance, unlike how it puts a premium on the internal and intercollegiate events like intramurals and Angara’s Cup.
Dated September 9–15, social media was filled with MASTS Friendship Games 2023 updates, which fueled the dismay of MSUan student-athletes. Women's table tennis player Rose Ann Garay can’t help but express her sentiments about how MSU-GSC’s absence in the games affected them. “Missed opportunity from previous MASTS cause discouragement for most student-athletes in the MSU Varsity community,” stated the Mechanical Engineering table tennis player.
Furthermore, Sepak Takraw Coach Christofferson Del Sol also shared the negative consequences of the university’s non-participation on the morale of MSUan student-athletes. In his words, “Somehow disappointing ito sa mga student-athlete lalo na sa mga higher years na matagal ng naghihintay ng official games at sa mga bago naman, exposure sana ito nila.”
In an interview with Physical Education Instructor Mussar Atib Salamat, budget constraint and conflict of schedules were the primary reasons why MSU-GSC was not able to join the games. “Nagdungan ang mga event which is Angara [Cup] and MASTS, as well as approaching ang intrams natin… Kung mu-join ta sa MASTS, wala tay budget na mahatag kay ang budget focus nato sa Angara ug sa intrams,” explained Sir Salamat. He further added, “When it comes sa sports natin, medyo behind talaga tayo because kulang tayo ng support from admin.” Clearly, the administration pays a little heed to huge external sports competitions that the student-athletes highly anticipate, in hopes that they would also be able to carry the MSU-GSC banner.
While the MSU-GSC joins and conducts sports tournaments around the city, the student-athletes stressed that they themselves give more importance to Mindanao-wide competitions because it challenge their skills on a higher level. As per Zedekiah Arsolon, the captain of Lawn Tennis, “Ang level of difficulty per events no sa MASTS, where from other school and sa ubang lugar na nagakalaban nila, mas madevelop ilang skills and confidence through match.” Howbeit, what disheartened them most was the miscommunication by the Sports Development Office. They were given false hopes about the institution’s participation in the games along with the “available” budget, which drove them into extreme preparations that were eventually put into setbacks.
It is not new that the administration lacks adequate financial support when it comes to the varsity program. Athletes don’t have sufficient equipment they need, resulting in poor conditioning that affects their performances in actual competitions. They also have to cover their own expenses, lack of coaches and even use their own college sports uniforms instead of official school jerseys during interschool tournaments. Varsity players worked hard to be part of the team, with the goal of competing in higher events—not just in intercollegiate competitions, hence, it is then the responsibility of the institution to give them the financial support that they deserve.
The admin’s passivity with the recurring issue of budget constraints dispirits their burning passion and enthusiasm for proving that MSU-GSC also excels in the field of sports.The participation of our student-athletes in this kind of competition is a must to further our goal of being a competent university.
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