By Tracy Morin
On Monday, the WBC 3rd Women’s Convention and Asian Summit in Manila, Philippines, closed with a fun-filled day of tourism, celebrations and gratitude for another triumphant female convention. Attendees boarded a boat in the morning to Corregidor, a nearby island that holds a special place in veterans’ hearts and draws history buffs from around the world. Though now uninhabited except for its workers, it was once a military stronghold of the U.S. government and, prior to the United States granting the Philippines its independence, was attacked by Japanese military during World War II, in 1942. Today, visitors can explore the island to see the war-torn, battered remnants of the military structures and weaponry installed there decades ago.
Visitors on the WBC tour disembarked the boat for lunch at the Corregidor Inn, followed by a tram tour of the island, which now serves as a memorial to the many soldiers—American, Japanese and Filipino—who lost their lives in battle there. With stops at several now-destroyed barracks and military sites, as well as the Pacific War Memorial and onsite museum, and a tour through the Malinta Tunnel (an extensive underground bunker designed to protect the troops), attendees learned about the island’s unique and tragic history. Fittingly, the boxing group gained a better understanding of the courage and strength required in battle, in this case the military variety.
After the boat trip back to the capital, the WBC sent attendees off in style with a poolside luau party, complete with leis, at host hotel Sofitel Philippine Plaza Manila. A buffet dinner and live musical entertainment entertained the crowd before key players behind the convention stepped on stage for a forlorn but fond farewell. In an astounding feat, the entire event had been assembled from scratch in mere weeks—and couldn’t have been a better success for the organization and its multiple branches gathered in Manila, including WBC Asia, women’s boxing and Muay Thai.
Abraham Kahlil B. Mitra, chairman of the Philippines’ Games and Amusements Board (GAB) and international secretary of the WBC, helped spearhead that effort and kicked off the closing remarks. He took the microphone to express appreciation for the convention invading Manila and promised to help make future events come to fruition. Malte Muller-Michaelis, WBC women’s championship committee chairman, in turn thanked the GAB, the attending female champions, and the entire country of the Philippines for the warmest of welcomes—and vowed to return to the city again soon. Jill Diamond, WBC international secretary and international chairperson of WBC Cares, echoed his sentiments, lamenting that the summit had already come to a close. “This is not a women’s convention,” she said. “This is a people’s convention, designed to make the sport better. We will be back to Manila, and we hope everyone here will be back, too.”
Finally, Christiane Manzur, WBC Cares chairperson and wife of WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman, praised this year’s edition as the best female convention ever—filled with laughter, tears, advancement and plenty of fun. But her most cherished experience was the love, unity and friendship forged among those involved with boxing and Muay Thai under the WBC umbrella—a sentiment that attendees certainly shared.