The Sports Nook

Episode 8: Chelle Suarez - Obstacle Course Racing

Record-breaking PH obstacle course racing team member and national climbing team member Chelle Suarez takes us through the basics of OCR and tells us more about how the sport started nationally and what it's progress has been since the national team's debut at the 30th Southeast Asian Games, shares the story of her quick rise from climbing as a weekend activity to finding herself in a qualifying event for the national team and eventually competing for the Philippines, as well as her thoughts about her role as a female athlete in a male-dominated sport, how she balances national team duties and her full-time job in real estate, and the support the team has been getting locally.

Episode 7: Andrew Harris - Beach Handball

Philippine national beach handball team member and former UP men's basketball team captain, Andrew Harris, helps us break down the new sport of beach handball (which has one or more similarities to other sports such as futsal, hockey, basketball, etc.), recounts his journey from New Jersey to the Philippines - how he went from pursuing an education to leading the UP Fighting Maroons in the UAAP as team captain, playing in the D-League, finding handball and representing the Philippines - and opens up about his transition from one sport to the other, balancing basketball and handball responsibilities, and his hopes for developing not only beach handball but also athletics in the Philippines.

Episode 6: Jia Dee - Esports

Professional Hearthstone player and caster and the lone female member of Sibol, Jia Dee, answers some FAQs about esports, debunks common myth-conceptions and enlightens us on the required skill set for pro gamers, the challenges of making it big as a pro gamer, etc. She shares her journey and experience representing the Philippines, her insights on the growth and development of esports and its legitimacy as a sport and its future; and being the lone female player of Team Sibol, discusses the gender issue in esports, and the difficulties and rise of female gamers.

Episode 5: Jessie Lacuna - Competitive Swimming

10-year national team member and 2-time Olympian, Jessie Lacuna, helps us cover the basics of competitive swimming, tells us about his journey from his humble beginnings in Pulilan, Bulacan to qualifying qualifying for the most prestigious sporting event in the world, clarifies his reported 'retirement' after the 2019 SEA Games, and shares his insights on Philippine aquatics, his thoughts on our new generation of PH swimmers, and his hopes for the future of the sport.

Episode 4: Andrea Robles - Compound Archery

Compound Archery Superstar and 2019 Indoor Archery World Series gold medalist, Andrea Robles, guides us through the basics of Archery, walks us through her journey from spontaneously trying out Archery one day and then representing the country just a few years later, and opens up about the pressure and bliss of being a young member of the Philippine Archery Team, alongside Olympians, and facing off against internationally-renowned names in the sport.