You can trust the sports association that gave birth to the competitive national beach volleyball tournament to cook up something interesting that will draw more interest to its discipline as it celebrates its 30th year in the province.

Imagine a football field transformed into 32 courts with four players each side. It will be more action-packed and thrilling that a three-on-three street basketball tournament or a futsal game.

Welcome to the Park Volleyball Festival of the Negros Occidental Volleyball Association, which will be held at the St. La Salle ball field on Saturday, Feb. 2. The festival will feature 32 male and another 32 female teams with four members each side representing various Physical education classes in Negros Occidental. Among the schools invited to participate other than the host university are STI, AMA, La Salle Tech, Colegio San Agustin-Bacolod, UNO-Recolets, Carlos Hilado Memorial State College, Technological University of the Philippines – Visayas, Kabankalan Catholic College, said Roger Banzuela, NOVA president and USLS varsity sports director.

Banzuela said park volleyball is a new recreational and competitive event being promoted by the International Volleyball Federation through the Philippine Volleyball Federation and other national volleyball associations in the world.

The festival format requires a single round robin for four teams assigned to one court with the top team advancing to the quarterfinals.

Malot Lozada, tournament coordinator, said the court will measure 8x16 meters, the same size of a beach volleyball play area.

NOVA said USLS P.E. instructor Cris Bancal suggested the holding of the festival as a major activity for P.E. students enrolled in team sports classes. It said that while it has held park volleyball in some areas in the past, this will be the first time that the event will be held on a bigger scale.

Lozada said park volleyball is mainly recreational that its rules reflect the nature of the game. Game regulations are more relaxed than the usual volleyball match and players will be engaged in auto-refereeing, she pointed out.

Promoting Wushu & Tai Chi

If you want a relaxing form of exercise for good health and rejuvenation, you are welcome to join the tai chi sessions of the Wushu Federation Philippines- Bacolod Chapter. Nelson Manahan, WFP-Bacolod president and a businessman, said they are hilding the session at the South Transport Terminal of SM City Bacolod every Sunday from 7 to 8:30 a.m.

The organization, organized in April last year, has been promoting tai chi and wushu in various occasions, including the 2007 Masskara Festival and the Senior Citizens' Week where it staged an exhibition for both disciplines. It has 15 officers and about 30 members, Manahan said, adding the Bacolod chapter was formally recognized by Julian Camacho, national wushu federation president, who inducted the local officers during their MassKara activity last year.

Tai chi as a form of wushu martial arts, the officer said, uses movements done one's body relaxed and calm and the mind concentrated – following the principle, “Walk like a cat, light and firm”. He added that Tai chi is an art and system of exercise and a method of self defense that emphasizes the use of slow breathing, balanced, relaxed and rhythmical movements for the promotion of health, strength and peace of mind. The long lasting effect of this exercise, he added, is the promotion of deep breathing, digestion, excellent functioning of one's internal organs as well as blood circulation.

Manahan said they are looking forward to staging another tai chi and wushu exhibition during the Bacalaodiat Festival in Bacolod City next month. At the same time, he said the organization is screening male and female applicants, aged 9-14, ho are either in-school and out-of-school, for training for future regional, national and international cpmpetitions.