Athletes and coaches of the Central Visayas team gather during a send-off activity at the Cebu City Sports Center.
cdn photo/lito tecson
‘Play hard, play your hearts out’, athletes told as they leave for Palaro
With a lofty goal of claiming top honors, the Central Visayas Regional Athletic Association (Cviraa) delegation left for Antique Province last night for the 60th edition of the mammoth multi-sporting event Palarong Pambansa.
“Play hard, play your hearts out,” said Senior Education Program Supervisor Zenaida Gocotano in her send-off message yesterday at the Cebu City Sports Center.
The delegation sailed for Antique on board a Cokaliong Shipping Lines boat around 7 p.m. yesterday.
The send-off activity was also graced by Region 7’s top education officials led by Dr. Luz Jandayan, chief of Education Support Service Division of the Department of Education in Central Visayas (DepEd-7).
Instead of just gunning for its usual fourth place finish, Cviraa is looking to complete a daunting task of finishing at the top.
“We are targeting the number one or number two spot. That is our goal: to finish at the top,” said Gocotano.
Finishing at the top will be Region 7’s ticket for a chance to host the annual tournament, which pits the country’s top elementary and secondary athletes.
“We will only bid to host the Palaro if we finish second or first,” said Gocotano in previous interviews.
The Region 7 delegation, which will be billeted at the University of Antique, is composed of at least 500 athletes, most of them from Cebu City, which ruled this year’s Cviraa Regional Meet, the qualifying tournament for Palaro.
Cviraa is composed of 13 school divisions. These are Cebu City, Cebu Province, Tagbilaran City, Bohol Province, Lapu-Lapu, Mandaue, Danao, Bogo, Carcar, Naga, Talisay, Toledo and Siquijor.
Last year, Cviraa finished fourth with a harvest of 29 gold medals, 31 silvers and 29 bronzes.
Region 7 will compete in all the 25 regular events and three demonstration sports (dance sport, pencal silat, and aero gymnastics).
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