Hayco wants Cebu City athletes to experience high-level competition in Batang Pinoy
Cebu City Sports Commission (CCSC) Chairman Edward Hayco is hoping that the Cebu City Niños will gain the needed exposure when they compete in the Batang Pinoy Visayas Games in Dumaguete City, Negros Oriental, starting this weekend.
Cebu City will be sending 250 student athletes in the annual multisporting meet for athletes aged 15 and below. There will be 19 sporting events to be played in the weeklong competition.
“We will compete in most sports as we can and our goal for this event is not just to win as many gold medals as we can. For me, what’s more important is the exposure of the athletes in a high-level competition like this. We want to give athletes an opportunity to experience competing in events like this because this will improve their confidence for future competitions,” Hayco told Cebu Daily News.
The Cebu City Niños are expected to leave for Dumaguete on Friday.
This is the inaugural staging of Batang Pinoy regional games under the new PSC administration headed by Chairman William Ramirez.
PSC’s previous administration let LGUs select athletes for the Batang Pinoy national finals.
In last year’s national finals in Tagum City, Davao Oriental, Cebu City placed second overall in the medal standings with 43 gold medals coupled with 31 silvers and 32 bronzes while Baguio City was the overall champion with 55-41-41 (gold-silver-bronze) medal tally.
Cebu province, meanwhile, placed 10th among the 180 LGUs that took part in the national finals.
According to Cebu Provincial Sports Commission (CPSC) chairman Atty. Ramil Abing, the athletes of Cebu province are well prepared for the meet.
“We are aiming to win more gold medals than last year and we are confident that our athletes will deliver and reach our goals,” said Abing.
A total of 176 athletes will man Cebu province.