MUAYTHAI – A MEDAL SPORT IN THE SEA GAMES

The second biggest Asian sport event, SEA Games, has included as a full medal sport. This great achievement is the result of the assistance of the International Federation of Muaythai Amateur (IFMA) and the dedication of the Muaythai Association of the Philippines.

The Asian Muaythai Branch, FAMA, is proudly selected as the controlling body for the prestigious event.

The long wait is over. Finally, Muaythai has found its rightful spot in the mainstream of Olympic Games. On October 12, 2004, the members of the Southeast Asian Games Sports Federation Executive Council (SEAGSFEC) finalized the list of regular sports to be included in the 2005 SEA Games to be held in Manila. In the said meeting, Muaythai is one of the events overwhelmingly approved by the Council Members for inclusion in the 2005 SEA Games Edition. The entry of Muaythai in the SEA Games as one of the regular sports also paves the way for the adoption of its new name to conform with the traditions and spirit of the International Olympic Movement. As such, the sports will be played under the assumed name of "MUAY", which effectively abandoned the distinction of ownership of the sports by any individual or country. It can't be denied, however, that Muaythai originated from the Kingdom of Thailand, thus, it is just proper that honor and gratitude must be afforded to the Thais.

THE ROAD TO SEA GAMES

In 1995, Muaythai was admitted in the SEA Games as a "Demonstration Sports" in Changmai, Thailand. Muaythai was also admitted as a "Demonstration Sports" during the 1998 13th Asian Games in Bangkok, Thailand. This has been archeived through the hard work of the international IFMA and FAMA community. It was during this event that the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) formally included Muaythai in the pool of sports to be competed in future Asian Games. IFMA has been selected to be the controlling body. During the 2001 Kuala Lumpur SEA Games, Malaysia attempted to include Muaythai as one of the regular sports to be competed. However, the host country failed to muster the required number of votes from other Southeast Asian member nations. After Vietnam hosted the 2003 SEA Games without Muaythai in the regular sports competed, the torch of the biennial games was turned over to the Philippines as the next host of SEA Games in 2005. Immediately thereafter, the leadership of the Muaythai Association of the Philippines (MAP) seized the golden opportunity and worked double time to ensure the inclusion of Muaythai in the regular sports to be played during the 2005 Edition of the SEA Games in Manila. Strong representation with the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) was initiated which proved to be just the first phase of a long and tedious process. Simultaneously, an open line of communication was immediately established with other National Olympic Committee - accredited Muaythai organizations in the Southeast Asian Region. This initial strategy appears to be the key in the consideration for inclusion of Muaythai to be one of the sports to be played in the 2005 SEA Games.

After Muaythai has been considered for inclusion during the early part of 2004, The Muaythai Association of the Philippines designated Mr. Roberto B. Valdez as the Technical Liaison Officer between the Philippine SEA Games Organizing Committee (PhilSOC) and Muaythai. (NOTE: Mr. Valdez used to be the Secretary General.

Roberto was elected President of MAP during its re-organization on September 2004 after the resignation of its former President, Gen. Lucas Managuelod). Thereafter, Mr. Valdez provided Technical inputs and expertise on how Muaythai will be managed once it will be finally included in the official roster of games to be played. Impressed by the technical expertise, dedication and commitment demonstrated by Mr. Valdez, members of the PhilSOC officially registered Muaythai in the list of sports for final selection during the SEAGSFEC meeting last October 2004 in Manila. Prior to the meeting of SEAGSFEC Members, officials of Muaythai Association of the Philippines represented by Mr. Valdez and Dominick Viloria (VP for Administration and International Affairs) traveled to Bangkok, Thailand on May 29, 2004 and reported to the Thailand Olympic Committee (TOC) and the Amateur Muaythai Association of Thailand (AMAT) of the developments as well as the milestones of our effort in pursuing the inclusion of Muaythai in the 2005 SEA Games. In that particular meeting, TOC and AMAT officials conveyed their full support on the initiative being undertaken by the Muaythai Association of the Philippines.Mister Valdez also stated clearly that IFMA has to be the controlling body as it is already recognized by the OCA and already has been IF controlling body at Sea and Asian games. The IFMA has organized 9 successful Asian championships and has popularized MUAYTHAI allover Asia and the world.

Furthermore, the IFMA executive board held a special meeting to announce full support toward the MUAYTHAI association of the Philippines and to gather the help of all South East Asian Federations, which are all members of the IFMA, on the subject of approaching their National Olympic Committees to support the Manila bid.

Many IFMA member countries also helped on the development by inviting Philippine fighters to get international experience and the Philippine Team has been invited to Australia, Singapore, Kazakhstan, Canada.

On October 12, 2004, the members of SEAGSFEC converged in Manila to finalize the roster of sports to be played in the 2005 SEA Games. Finally, Muaythai was voted for inclusion. The realization of our effort could have not been possible without the full support and cooperation of the whole Muaythai community in the Southeast Asian Region as well as that of Dr. Sakchye Tapsuwan and Mr. Stephan Fox.

FORMULA OF SUCCESS

From the time MAP officials and members started working for the inclusion of Muaythai in the 2005 SEA Games the thought of failure was never entertained. Our minds and energies were focused on just one goal - that is to succeed in our quest. Achieving this goal has never been a "walk in the park". Officials and members at times have to sacrifice and pour in personal resources to ensure that our efforts will yield positive results. Burning the lines of communications with our counterparts in other Southeast Asian countries anytime of the day or night exemplifies our resilience. In some instances, we cross the line of organizational loyalty and totally ignored sports politics in order to attain the full support of people and organizations that can help us in pushing the inclusion of Muaythai in the 2005 SEA Games.

After all our primary concern is to place the welfare and interest of Muaythai first before any individual or collective interest of persons or organizations.

The key to the fruits of our labor is a simple chemistry of commitment, excellence, professionalism and human relations anchored on the spirit of the Olympic movement being exercised by the officers and members of MAP.

DEVELOPMENTAL PROGRAMS OF MAP

The strong organization and proactive development programs of MAP has caught the attention of the POC leadership as well as the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC). There is no doubt that the initial consideration of Muaythai in the roster of games to be played has been partly influenced by the developmental activities of MAP. Other than the continuous excellent performances of MAP national athletes in international tournaments, the grass-root sports development programs of Muaythai is steadily attracting not only the youth but also the professionals in all segments of the society. Prominent showbiz personalities were not spared. Top rated local celebrities like Mr. Robin Padilla, Judy Ann Santos, Raymond Bagatsing, Jackie Lou Blanco, Camille Pratts, Sunshine Dizon, Yul Servo and Piolo Pascual to name a few, are active in supporting Muaythai's program to attract the youth to engage themselves in sports and stay away from vices. Some of the programs being initiated by MAP is the Nationwide Muaythai Summer Clinic sponsored by MILO of Nestle-Philippines. In the countryside, Regional and Provincial Chapters are very active in conducting periodic tournaments to hone the skills of the athletes as well as in providing alternative programs for to youth to engage themselves during summer vacation. The growing popularity of Muaythai has also attracted 5 star gyms, e.g. Gold's Gym, Red Corner, etc., in the country and has since enlisted the services of top Muaythai Athletes from the National Training Pool as regular instructors. Similarly, top corporations have also enlisted the services of MAP National Athletes as their regular instructors in Muaythai. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and Shangri La Hotel are on top of the list. Even the students for priesthood at San Carlos Seminary located at the heart of the country's business district in Makati, are wowed by the sports and thus, enlisted some of the National Athletes as regular instructors in their Martial Arts class. By January of 2005, MAP will be embarking on a new grass root sports development project which will involved the active participation of the National and Local government, the non-government organizations and other stakeholders. The primary objective of the project is to develop the potentials of young promising athletes who will be trained as members of the MAP National Training Pool. Its secondary objective is to teach the youth of the evils of vices especially drug abuse. This project will complement the Muaythai League Program of MAP which is also due for implementation by January 2005. The league will be conducted in Regional Level for three months and all Regional Champions shall vie for honors in the National Championship Tournaments to be held in Manila. These early, big corporations have already expressed their interest in sponsoring the Muaythai League. MAP is looking forward to the successful implementation of the Muaythai League.

To strengthen the grass root sports development program of Muaythai, Mr. Dominick D. Viloria, MAP VP for Administration and International Affairs will be joining 70 sports leaders from Asia in a study tour in Japan on November 10-17, 2004 under the auspices of Japan Amateur Sports Association (JASA). The project will enable the participants to have a holistic appreciation of the grass root sports development program of Japan which they can translate in tangible programs in their respective countries. Muaythai of the Philippines on its part will benefit much in this undertaking, as it will further improve its programs and activities in the grass root level.

MEET THE NEW LEADERSHIP

To ensure success and continuity of MAP programs, the organization was strengthen with its new sets of Officers. The new crop of officers is a mixture of youthful professionals, businessmen, sportsmen who actually practice Muaythai, showbiz personalities and common people. Average age is 34.8, 19 years old being the youngest and 51 years old being the most senior. The new board is a blending of youth (which represents new blood and fresh ideas) and experience (which represents wisdom, experience and energy in sports and organizational development).

The new officers are:

Roberto B. Valdez President
Col. Antonio P, Meddoza, Jr. Executive Vice President
Dominick D. ViloriaVice President for Administration and

Fernando S. Galvez Vice President for Operations
Red Dumuk Secretary General
Marc Anthony I. Dominguez Treasurer
Judy Ann Santos Auditor
Robinhood Padilla P.R.O
Roy Chua Business Manager

Board Members:

:: Raymond Bagatsing
:: Piolo Pascual
:: Yul Servo
:: Camille Pratts
:: Sunshine Dizon

The M A P is proud to be a member of the WMC and IFMA and wish to thank all our IFMA and WMC friends from around the world for all the support over the past years.

"United we stand - Divided we fall"