THE Philippine Judo Federation (PJF) appointed businessman-sportsman Nestor Ma as the new regional director.
PJF executive board member David Carter, in a phone interview with VoxPop Davao, said Ma is a judo enthusiast and has positive views on the sport.
The regional judo training center will be located in the building that Ma owns along Maa Diversion Road where the Duterte Headquarters during the presidential campaign was housed.
All judo clubs in the region will benefit from the judo training center.
Carter also said that he proposed an allocated budget from the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) for 2017 to provide equipment for the provinces.
"Nung nag-usap kami ni chairman, tinanong niya ako para saan 'yung Tatami mats, and sabi ko hindi 'yun para sa Manila, para po 'yun sa mga provinces including Davao," he said, pertaining to PSC Chairman William "Butch" Ramirez.
Since Davao is currently one of the cities that people looked up to, Carter hopes that judo won't be left behind, which is also one of the reasons why they appointed a new director.
He added that as he spoke with Ma, the latter was positive when it comes to gearing youth development towards the 2019 Southeast Asian (SEA) Games.
"We want to develop 'yung mga athletes from the provinces kasi most sa mga malalakas na athletes to compete galing sa probinsya eh," Carter said, adding that they will also develop talents from Batang Pinoy to be competitive in international events.
Carter also wanted the athletes to target the 2020 Olympics.
"Hindi lang tayo dapat focused on the SEA Games but dapat advanced din tayo for the Olympics," he said.
Carter when asked about the unification of judo clubs in Davao, he said there should be an election and it should be open to all.
"Since tapos na ang term ng former administration, there should be an election again," he said, adding the election is slated in January 2017.
"If sino manalo, sana tulong-tulong nalang kasi malakas sana tayo eh kung magkakaisa lahat," Carter said.
He also hopes that whoever gets elected in the upcoming election should be supported and encouraged not to be criticized.