The Department of Education (DepEd) Cebu City and Region VII offices have forged a partnership to ensure the success of the upcoming Central Visayas Regional Athletic Association (CVIRAA) which the city will be hosting from Feb. 9-13.
DepEd Cebu City division sports coordinator Zenaida Gocotano said that they are now doubling their time and effort to prepare for the annual regional meet which is expected to draw more than 10,000 athletes from the region’s 19 divisions.
Last Tuesday, Gocotano said they conducted ocular inspections on the different playing venues and billeting areas for the five-day competition.
She also announced that they have met with the different working committees from the DepEd’s regional and division offices to discuss about Cebu City’s hosting and tackle the meet’s technical, logistical and manpower needs.
Last year, Dumaguete City hosted the annual regional meet which was delayed for two days after the city was struck by a typhoon. However, the meet ended successfully with Cebu City retaining its overall title both in the secondary and elementary divisions.
The regional meet will also determine the region’s representatives to the 2014 Palarong Pambansa this summer.
The CVIRAA is usually held in the first week of December but was moved to February this year after the region was hit by a 7.2-magnitude earthquake last October and supertyphoon “Yolanda” last November which claimed thousands of lives and destroyed various infrastructures.
According to Gocotano, the CVIRAA working committee will be conducting a series of meetings in preparation for the five-day meet.
“We will be very busy until February. I am thankful that the regional office offered to help us prepare for the meet,” said Gocotano.
BOXING SAFEGUARDS
Meanwhile, Gocotano revealed that extra precautionary measures will be adopted in the boxing competition in light of the death of a senior high school boxer who died while competing in the Luzon Regional Athletic Association meet last December.
Jonas Joshua Garcia went into a coma during a boxing match.
“We can’t predict when an accident will happen so we will be very careful and cautious to prevent it,” she said.
Only the secondary division will have a boxing competition as mandated by the newly implemented “Republic Act No. 10588” also known as the “Palarong Pambansa Act of 2013” which prohibits elementary athletes from competing in boxing.
Gocotano assured trusted and competent officials will be handling the CVIRAA boxing competition.