PH to host 2023 Asian Age Group Swimming Championships

The stage is set for the 11th Asian Age Group Swimming Championships next year. Ivan Saldajeno

By Ivan Saldajeno

CAPAS—Add another hosting to a very busy 2023 for Philippine sports.

The New Clark City Aquatic Center here will be the battleground for the 11th Asian Age Group Swimming Championships.

The Asia Swimming Federation, Philippine Olympic Committee, and the Bases Conversion Development Authority made it official on Wednesday during a memorandum of agreement signing at the said venue.

The signing event also marked the start of the one-year countdown to the swimming tilt as it is scheduled to begin on Nov. 23, 2023.

“I would like to thank the AASF for giving us the opportunity to host a big event like this,” POC president Bambol Tolentino said. “It’s really hard to bid to host an international event like swimming.”

According to AASF secretary general Taha Al-Kishry, around 1,400 aquatics athletes aged 11-18 years old from 42 countries are expected to take part in the said event, which will have swimming, diving, water polo, and synchronized swimming competitions.

This will be the first international event the NCC will host since the 2019 Southeast Asian Games, and BCDA senior vice president Arrey Perez wants to host the Asian Age Group Swimming Championships in the best way ever.

“It’s not easy to host an event like the Asian championships. It requires a year of preparation and dry runs to make it better,” Perez said, adding that they will be busy too in marketing the event, especially within the entire Clark Freeport Zone including the old area in Angeles and Mabalacat.

However, Al-Kishry raved the BCDA about how they built the stadium.

“The facilities here are excellent from the warm-up to the competition pool,” said Al-Kishry, adding that the Aquatics Center is Olympic standard. “There’s nothing you can ask for about the venue.”

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