SEA Games flame relay
By Rosli Abidin Yahya

A nationwide relay of the 23rd Southeast Asian (SEA) Games flame will begin today in the Philippines marking the 100-day countdown before the regional sporting event commence at the end of November.

According to a report in the Philippine Star, before the biennial meet starting Nov. 27, the Philippine SEA Games Organising Committee (Philsoc) would stage several activities around the country to perk up the public's awareness.

The torch relay began in Vietnam, the last SEA Games hosting country in 2003. It will pass through major cities around the country, Philsoc said.

Philsoc also said that it has already made an arrangement with government corporations such as the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO), Philippine Amusements and Gaming Corp. (PAGCOR), Landbank, among others, to include the SEA Games hosting as part of their respective advertising operations.

Commercial advertisements featuring former Filipino sporting greats will be installed in the country's major thorough fares.

Stickers advertising the event will be given free to the public, it added.

Some 7,000 athletes and officials from 11 countries will compete in 388 disciplines of 41 sports.

Besides host Philippine, the other countries participating are Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, East Timor, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

From the 441 medals at stake, 45 are from athletics, aquatics (43), shooting (25), gymnastics (24), wushu (22), karatedo (18), pencak silat (17), taekwondo and judo (16 each), billiards/snooker (14), cycling, fencing, sailing and wrestling (12 each), bowling and weightlifting (10 each), rowing (9), chess and archery (8 each), canoe/kayak, table tennis, lawn tennis, muay and badminton (7 each), bodybuilding, traditional boat race, lawn bowls, sepak takraw, petanque and arnis (6 each), volleyball and golf (4 each), basketball, football, triathlon, softball, squash, equestrian and dancesport (2 each) and baseball (1).

Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin