Geraldine Go BERNADO, MBM, DBA (Candidate)
Secretary General, ACESS
Lecturer, Department of Management and Organization
College of Business
De La Salle University
Philippines
Geraldine “Dina” Go Bernardo is a graduate of B.S. Physical Therapy from the University of the Philippines and holds a Master’s Degree in Business Management at the Asian Institute of Management (AIM). Her foray into sports began when she trained as a National Athlete and became the Team Captain of the Philippine Women’s Dragon Boat Team, winning two gold medals during their first stint to the Southeast Asian Games in 2005. Dina became the Chairperson of the Philippine Olympic Committee Athletes Commission, representing the rights and interests of the athletes. She was also appointed as the first female Executive Director of the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC), handling the administrative functions and operations of the country’s sport governing body. Dina holds posts at the Asian Association of Sport Management (AASM) and the Asian Council of Exercise and Sports Science (ACESS); thus founding the local chapter, Sport Management Council of the Philippines (SportPhil). She is a recipient of various international training from the International Olympic Committee, International Labor Organization, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Babson College. She was the first Filipina accepted into the inaugural class of the Global Sports Mentoring Program for emerging women sports leaders under the U.S. State Department and espnW. These experiences have led her to champion community sports and women empowerment in several communities, through programs such as SWEEP (Sports for Women’s Empowerment and Employment Program), and RePLAY, ReLIVE and ReCreate - building community resilience through sports for post-disaster areas. She currently teaches Sport Management, Sport Marketing, and Strategic Management at the De La Salle University (DLSU) and Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) candidate with research focus on athlete and sport entrepreneurship.
The Philippine Taekwondo Association Experience: Developing a model of sport governance and sustainability for National Sports Associations
The study examines the workable and sustainable management practices of the Philippine Taekwondo Association (PTA) by way of identifying its policies, management processes and systems. It presents a conceptual framework for responsible governance and sustainability of the National Sports Associations (NSAs) within the context of the Philippines’ sports system. The data were collected through in-depth interviews with organizational members, athletes, and former members of the PTA, as well as from online resources. Included are review of influential literature on leadership, governance and management in sports organizations, non-profit organizations, and business enterprises. Most developing countries rely on government funding to sustain their sports programs. Elite sports development in the country is dependent on the symbiotic coordination between the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) and the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC); with the PSC serving as the funding agency of the government and the POC as the mother organization of the NSAs and having the sole authority to recommend athletes for competitions organized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). Typically, the majority of the NSAs are unused to professional management and accountability and remain heavily reliant on the PSC for funding support. Korean national CEO Grandmaster Sung Chon Hong, who heads the PTA, has been instrumental in making taekwondo the number one martial arts in the country. With his strong emphasis on professional development, value co-creation and multi-sectoral governance, the PTA today boasts of more than 1 million registered practitioners nationwide, various revenue streams and consistent podium success. From the PTA experience, this study describes the themes and critical success factors in the evolution towards self-sufficiency of an NSA.