RIYADH, 5 September — Sports buffs in the capital city will open a two-month tennis competition today with an accent on a fund drive for calamity victims in the Philippines.
The Ma’aden’s 3rd Cup Tennis Tournament, whose participants are mostly Filipinos, will open at the sport grounds of Zahret Al-Sharq Hotel on Old Airport Road. About 200 players are participating.
To show that the tournament organizers are not just after leisure, they have agreed to support the fund-raising campaign of the Philippine Red Cross (PNRC), said Alex Asuncion, the tournament’s press relations officer.
Asuncion said the fund drive in conjunction with the tournament is in response to the PNRC’s call for help, which was endorsed by then Ambassador Rafael E. Seguis before he left for his new assignment in Jakarta.
Carmelita Hildalgo, the Philippine Embassy’s cultural and sports attaché, had been invited as guest speaker during today’s ceremonies.
Official registration opens at 5 p.m., followed by the ceremonial program right after the Magreb prayer.
Veteran tennis buffs who have played in various tournaments in Riyadh said many players want to join Ma’aden Cup tennis tournaments because they are well organized.
Ma’aden (the Saudi Arabian Mining Company) has also been very supportive of its employees’ sports tournaments, said Khamis Mehajul, the current tournament committee’s chairman.
Aside from sponsoring the venue and supplying tennis balls, the company is also active in organizing tournaments, he said.
Khamis said the success of the Ma’aden tournaments have been made possible by the all-out support given by its president and chief executive officer, Dr. Abdallah E. Dabbagh, and vice president for industrial affairs, Abdullah S. Busfar.
Khamis said this is because the company believes that keeping its workers physical fit would benefit the company.
He added that preparations for this new event were spearheaded by Adel A. Al-Melehi, PGAIS manager.
Asuncion said that whatever fund will be collected during the campaign will be properly documented and sent to the PNRC hrough the banks.
The group is the fourth so far to throw its support for the PNRC, whose humanitarian efforts helps hundreds of thousands of Filipinos stricken by natural or man-made disasters, regardless of religion, ethnic group, or economic status.
At present, the Red Cross is also helping government agencies who are taking care of Filipinos who have been deported by Malaysian authorities from Sabah.
The deportees, many of them Muslim Filipinos who have fled to Sabah during the fighting in Mindanao in the 70s and 80s, are first brought to a processing camp in Zamboanga City or Bongao, in Tawi-Tawi province.
It is during this transition that they need relief support, officials said.