koko & everything else

koko & everything else

Monday, May 28, 2012

Sports for the Future: Toby’s Sports and PLDT-Smart Foundation’s Summer Tennis Festival


SUMMER TENNIS FESTIVAL WINNERS. Toby’s  Sports and PLDT-SMART Foundation
presents this year’s winners for categories 10, 12, 14, 16 and 18
and under category, boys and girls division, with coach Chris Kuwarto,
tournament director, Bobby Claudio, chairman Toby’s Sports, Toby Claudio,
president retail division and Atty. Al Agra representative, Futures Foundation. 

Last May 14 to 20, 2012, the Toby’s Sports (in cooperation with PLDT-Smart Foundation) Summer Tennis Festival happened. A week-long completion for budding tennis players was a success, in fact, it was filled with adrenaline-pumping action as these kids fought for the win. But despite the rush and excitement, (and of course, the goal to win) the kids played friendly and fair, something that sports truly develop in each athlete’s heart.

Toby’s Sports, the country’s leading sports gear and apparel retail store, is a real sports advocate. The company truly understands the importance of sports in every person’s life. It is not simply for the health-buff or for the active people. Sports can also be a way for the future.


The Ceremonial Serve at the opening of the Toby's Sports and
PLDT-Smart Foundation Summer Tennis Festival at Rizal Memorial Stadium 

I was on the opening of the event and I had the privilege to sit down and talk with Toby’s Sports Retail Division President, Toby Claudio himself. At a glance, Mr. Toby is the perfect image for the sports store. He is tall and had the athletic stand.

When I met him, he was dressed simply but sporty. But you can sense that he is a very passionate guy, mostly passionate with sports. I saw him from a distance, watching the little athletes during the event. His eyes are already sparkling with pride as he knows these kids are on the right track for a brighter future.

When I got a few moments with him, my first question was, what was their purpose of putting up the Toby’s Sports Youth Foundation (the company’s arm responsible for such sports fest). And his answer was also as simple; he said that the foundation’s mission was to help kids play.

In his words, “We firmly believe that sports, fitness and an active lifestyle should be part of every kid’s childhood…”

He said that having an active lifestyle developed early in the kid’s life has so many benefits; one of it is having better health in the future. He addressed his concerns that more and more kids nowadays are getting obese because of computers and other gadgets.


DOUBLES WINNERS. Doubles champion and runner up in the 18 and below,
boys division (3rd from right) champions Arc Dolorito and Dheo Talatayod,
and runners up Joel Cabusa and Emil Cariga with  Coach Chris Kuwarto,
tournament director, Bobby Cludio, chairman & CEO, Toby’s Sports, Toby Cludio, Toby’s Sports president retail division  and Atty. Al Agra, representative, Futures Foundation. 

The foundation aims to develop programs and sports clinics to encourage more kids to live a more active life because kids should go and play; and sports is the best bet for that. In fact, in sports, kids will not only learn to play, they can also develop other values such as teamwork, sportsmanship, discipline and camaraderie. Plus, it gets the kids away from bad vices.

And for many years now, Toby’s Sports Foundation has been actively involved in setting up tournaments, not only for tennis but also for three other sports like basketball, volleyball and badminton; the most popular sports in the country. But at present, Toby’s Sports is also aiming to expand its sports development programs to other sports such as football, among others. 

14 comments:

  1. Toby's has been active in sports and their affiliate store runnr is active in the running and multisport scene.

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  2. Kudos to Toby’s Sports and PLDT-Smart Foundation for keeping the young healthy and away from drugs!

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  3. I dont have the skills for tennis, whether it would be on the court or just a table. Kudos to the participants of this program :-)

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  4. This is a good program for kids. instead of them sitting in front of hte computer doing nothing, Toby encourages them to be active and healthy by playing sports.

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  5. I wish I know how to play tennis for real. O__O

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  6. Great to hear that some brands are throwing support to tennis. I think we Pinoys can excel in it given the right funding.

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  7. My husband is a rabid tennis player and he keeps on pushing our kids to learn the sport too. That would be a lot easier if we had programs like this in our city.

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  8. Yay! Summer sports are really cool. I dont know how to play tennis but I always enjoy watching the players. Hehehe. :)

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  9. I used to play tennis before, but got lazy as I went on. Well, aside from the fact that my tennis buddy is in abroad na.. hehe

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  10. Kudos to Toby’s Sports Foundation and PLDT-Smart Foundation. We should have more programs like this and support grassroots sports development.

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  11. I used to train and play tennis when I was a kid, although I did not pursue playing professionally... I think playing sports when I was young really helped me a lot and opened me up to a bigger world. I still play whenever I can now... and I believe that people should get engaged not just into tennis but any other sports... it wouldn't just make you healthier but it can really give you a lot more... like new friends and stress relief

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  12. great to here this, koko... that there are people looking for the welfare of kids today. hope they won't get tired of doing this. Yahweh bless.

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