Clark, Philippines, December 3, 2019: Coaches and delegates from participating countries in the on-going Southeast Asian (SEA) Games expressed satisfaction on the readiness of Clark Freeport as one of the venues for hosting the biennial games, reports iOrbit News Online. Daniel John Simmons, lawn bowls coach of Thailand, said that their team was having a “positive experience” since their arrival here. “We’ve been here for three days and it’s been a very positive experience. We’ve enjoyed the experience immensely and the facility here is brand new,” he said. “Usually, to put up a facility like this would take 18 months but they have managed it in only 40 days. To have this support and all of these things for lawn bowls in the Philippines is marvellous,” he added. Simmons similarly lauded the hospitality of the people in this area, describing it as “warm, positive, and enjoyable.” Malaysia’s lawn bowls team manager, Syed Zainal Abidin, also said that their athletes were able to easily adapt to the sports venue here. “What I can say about the facility is that it is for everybody. It was easy for us to adapt regarding our training and accommodation,” Abidin said. Ronalyn Greenlees, competition manager for lawn bowls and one of the athletes representing the Philippines, also thanked the Clark Development Corporation (CDC) in supporting them to put up the venue for their sport. Greenlees said that the delegations were happy and thankful that they were able to hold the lawn bowls competition at Clark – which is around 100km north of Manila and is the former military base of the United States. Greenlees also underscored the potential of lawn bowls here as a sports-tourism attraction. “We can bring a lot of tourists here through sports. We can also hold big tournaments here each month and host the national team.” As well as lawn bowls, Clark is hosting several other sports including rugby sevens, archery, baseball and softball, dance sport and petanque. Aquatics and athletics, along with the Athletes’ Village, are 30km away at New Clark City.
Coaches praise Clark sports venues for SEA Games
