A slightly leaner athletic delegation to the Palarong Bicol 2024 this week in Albay is keen on improving on its 9th place result in the previous games.
Last Friday, April 26, 2024, the Catanduanes delegation led by Schools Division Superintendent Socorro dela Rosa left the island bound for their billeting schools in preparation for Sunday’s formal opening of this year’s Palaro which will be hosted jointly by the Schools Division Office sof Legazpi City, Ligao City and Tabaco City.
SDS Dela Rosa said the delegation is composed of 450 athletes, 67 coaches, 15 assistant coashes and 18 chaperons.
Of the athletes, 168 elementary pupils and 258 secondary students are slated to take part in regular sports, while 18 are entered in demonstration sports and six, all elementary pupils, will compete in the Para Games.
The elementary athletes are vying for medals in arnis, athletics, badminton, baseball, basketball, chess, football, aero gymnastics, gymnastics, sepak takraw, softball, swimming, table tennis, taekwondo, tennis, and volleyball.
On the other hand, the secondary players will try to figure in the championships in archery, arnis, athletics, badminton, baseball, basketball, 3×3 basketball, billiards, boxing, chess, gymnastics, gymnastics aerobics, sepak takraw, softball, swimming, taekwondo, tennis and volleyball.
The demonstration sports where Catanduanes athletes are participating are dancesports in the elementary level, as well as dancesports and pencak silat (boys and girls) in the secondary level.
Para Games special events include athletics, the strategic bocce ball similar to bowling, goal ball and swimming.
This year’s regional athletic meet set April 27 to Mayt 4, 2023, brings together 6,500 learner-athletes, chaperons, coaches, technical and delegation officials for the week-long sporting event.
Due to extreme heat this summer, no outdoor sporting event will be held during the period from 10 AM to 3 PM to ensure the safety of the participating athletes.
In the 2023 Modified Palarond Bicol also held in Albay, the 615-strong Catanduanes delegation snatched 9th place, two rungs up from its 11th place finish in the 2019 games.
It garnered a total of nine (9) gold medals, 15 silvers and 17 bronzes.
The delegation secured 9th place in the elementary level, with five (5) golds, eight (8) bronzes and seven (7) silvers, and was 12th in the secondary level with a 4-7-10 medal tally.
The island province’s athletes had six (6) golds, five (5) silvers and six (6) bronzes in the Demonstration Sports but came up empty in the Para Games.
In individual and team events for secondary boys, Catanduanes picked up two golds in long jump and boxing, a silver each in 100-meter dash and mushroom gymnastics, three bronzes from taekwondo, and a bronze each in arnis and badminton singles.
In secondary boys team events, its basketball 3×3 team won the championship gold while its baseball and football teams salvaged a silver medal each.
Winners in the 2024 games will earn a spot in the Bicol delegation to the Palarong Pambansa 2024 to be held this July 6 to 17 in Cebu City.