THE UNIVERSITY Athletics Office has finally created their own website, solely dedicated to the different sports of the estimated 650 athletes of the Ateneo. Still a work in progress, goATENEO.com aims to showcase the other teams outside basketball, volleyball, and soccer as a means of giving both the players and coaches their well-deserved recognition.
Emmanuel Fernandez, the previous coordinator of the College Athletics Office, envisioned this project to acknowledge the Ateneo athletes in an egalitarian sense. It wasn’t enough that www.ateneo.edu had their own sports section for it usually highlighted the more popular sports in the Loyola-based community. Occasionally featuring the rest of the teams after performing certain feats, the site only offered a glimpse of the Ateneo’s student athletes despite its diversity.
In this light, Ceres Lina (AB Comm ’07), one of the current architects of goATENEO.com, was invited to share this task of creating an avenue that could possibly raise awareness of Ateneans. The different varsities, the respective teams, as well as the unique individuals that represent the school are featured by providing a comprehensive outlook on the various sports. The former fencing varsity player and team manager made it a point to showcase all teams representing the Ateneo in hopes of instilling a collective appreciation for our very own.
They decided to make it online primarily because of accessibility and connectivity. “Internet makes the world small,” Lina said. With the Internet becoming an integral part of communication, it was an appropriate decision to bring the Loyola sports world into the realms of virtual reality.
The site brings together the whole Ateneo sports nation. Not only does it provide users with a collection of information about the teams, athletes, and staff, it also aims to integrate interactive features such as photo galleries, live scoring, and video streaming. In addition, they plan to include announcements on recruitment for varsity aspirants and even game schedules for the sports line-up of Ateneo in the current UAAP season.
Moreover, Lina expects their online development team to extend invitations to fellow sports enthusiasts, whether alumni or undergraduate, to contribute in any way possible through articles, photos, or other forms of media and documentation. “We want to bring the Ateneo community together as sports fans,” she said.
