MANILA -- The Philippine Sports Commission forged an agreement with the Usana Health Sciences for a two-year partnership on Wednesday, August 2, at the Philsports Complex in Pasig City.
Represented by Chairman William "Butch" Ramirez, the PSC signed up Usana as the “Official Supplement Provider of the PSC.”
“This is very timely given our preparations for the Southeast Asian Games and the build-up to the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo,” Ramirez said.
Any help and support for the national team is welcome news and shall be vital contributions in the country's campaign for higher achievements in the global athletic arena, he added.
"We thank Usana for their interest in helping our athletes achieve more,” Ramirez said.
Usana, represented by its vice president for the Philippines and Indonesia, Aurora Mandanas-Gaston, shall supply 300 priority athletes with three of its premier supplements, namely: CellSentials™ Pack, CoQuinone® 30 and Procosa®.
“It is a privilege to work with the PSC-PSI in their goal to get our athletes ready for the Olympics. We are proud that we are able to provide Filipino athletes the same pharmacy-grade, safe, NSF-certified and World Anti-Doping Agency-approved nutritional products being enjoyed by world-class athletes,” Gaston said.
“This partnership is our commitment to the Philippine market who has helped our company become the leader in nutrition here and abroad," she said.
Two-time Women's World 10-Ball champion Rubilen Amit, taekwondo's Japoy Lizardo, Josephine Medina of table tennis-Philspada, fencing's Wilhelmina Lozada, wushu's Divine Wally, cyclist Mariella Salamat, chess grand master Eugene Torre, bowlers Liza Del Rosario, Lara Posadas and Kenneth Chua and 2016 Rio Olympics weightlifting silver medalist Hidilyn Diaz represented the athletes and coaches of the Philippine national team in the ceremonial turnover during the MOA signing.
To foster transparency on the implementation of the partnership, the products will be distributed directly to the 300 national athletes throughout the two-year partnership.
This is not the first time that the nutritional company has given its support to Filipino athletes. Through its Team Usana Pilipinas campaign, over 30 national past and current athletes have received sponsorships from Usana including Diaz, SEA Games gold medalist Nikko Huelgas, Philippine Azkals top footballer Misagh Bahadoran, Star Hotshots player Peter June Simon, Ginebra San Miguel Beer's LA Tenorio and Amit.
The sponsorship is an additional initiative to Usana's ongoing advocacy to help more than 3,000 elite athletes in 20 other countries.
Usana first started working with athletes in 1999 when Usana partnered with US Speed skating and Speed Skating Canada. Since then, Usana has provided thousands of elite and professional athletes around the world with high-quality nutritional supplements to help them perform at their best.
These groups include the Women’s Tennis Association, the US Ski and Snowboard Association, members of the Korean Speed skating Team and National Judo Team, and more. (PR)