The South Luzon State University benchmarked the best practices of the Tarlac State University’s Community, Sports, and Wellness program, a tripartite initiative together with the Commission on Higher Education and Provincial Government of Tarlac, last April 23, 2026 at the Main AVR.
This CHED-funded program is under the Community Sports and Wellness-Promotion of Awareness, Teamwork, and Health (CSW-PATH), which aims to reach grassroots communities, including out-of-school youth, student athletes, coaches, and the elderly, to foster a healthy community powered by sports.
Dr. Jasper Jay Mendoza, Vice President for Academic Affairs, gave a walk-through of the program and explained how the university began by conducting meetings and seminars for coaches, tourism staff, and stakeholders, and by strategizing about the wellness center on the San Isidro Campus.
He also shared the newly established Community Sports Club, which is set to run a nine-week summer sports clinic program aiming to engage around 3,000 out-of-school youth in Tarlac City and 17 municipalities in the province.
Furthermore, Dr. Mendoza highlighted the refurbished gymnasium and its newly built shower rooms and comfort rooms at the San Isidro Campus through an audio-visual presentation.
SLSU Faculty Regent Assoc. Prof. Gino Cabrera asked how to integrate sports tourism and implement the program in the community following their meeting with stakeholders, as they need to accomplish their project by 2027.
“Ang sports po, hindi siya kumikita mismo sa event; ang sports, kumikita siya doon sa manonood sa event. ‘Yun po ang trabaho ng sports. Hindi po para kumite, kundi to gather people,” Coach Jefferson Herrera, a faculty member of the CoEd BPE program, said in reply.
According to Coach Herrera, it is important to tap into clubs with similar interests and integrate popular items in your community, such as food, to develop income-generating projects while conducting sports activities.
Photo: Eduardo F. Laxamana Jr.
