Monday, April 21, 2008 Region 7 starts hunt By Marian C. Baring Sun.Star Staff Reporter
PUERTO Princesa - Six gold medals are up for grabs today as the medal-rich athletics event open the hostilities of the 2008 Palarong Pambansa officially start today in different venues.
The track and field events open early with the gold medals in javelin, long jump, triple jump and shotput to be contested today at the Ramon V. Mitra Jr. Sports Complex.
Track athletes of Region 7, who mostly come from the University of Cebu, are expected to open Central Visayas Regional Athletic Association’s bid with gold medals today.
Aside from them, also expected to step up today is the gymnastics event, where Cebuana Mary Carmelli Garrovillo, gold medal winner in last year’s Palaro, is tipped to
mirror her impressive 2007 feat. She spearheaded the region’s win in gymnastics last year, when the team took the secondary title of the artistic gymnastics.
Also set to live up to their lofty billing are the tennis teams, which won the girls title last year. This year, expected to put up a good fight are the powerhouse boys
elementary team led by last year’s champion Jacob Lagman and Cviraa champion Fritz Satera of Cebu Province. The high school team is led by Bernardine Niño Siso,
John Francis Largo and Larry Antigua.
Meanwhile, the Palaro opened with a lot of fanfare yesterday, with the Region 7 delegation dancing to the Sinulog beat during the grand parade.
On the other hand, the Philippine Sports Commission, which have turned over the responsibility of the Palarong Pambansa to the Department of Education four years ago, still threw in its full support to the national games.
“We are happy to have the opportunity to work with DepEd in the discovery of potential sports talents, who will represent the country in future competitions. This is the
breeding ground for future Olympians,” said commissioner Eric Loretizo in a statement.
Innovation
Loretizo added that the Palaro is an ideal venue for identifying and training athletes. “PSC will be expanding the avenues for the discovery of talents as we revive the 12-Under Batang Pinoy.
The host has also introduced innovation for this year’s Palaro. The Palarong Pambansa will finally be taken out of the stone age and the manual tabulation of results as it embraces the gift of technology—a first since its inception in the early editions of the tournament.
The sports complex, which is surrounded by greeneries, not just enjoys a lofty facelift but was also plugged with gadgets.
For the pools, electronic touch pads called the dolphin timers were installed. This helps in getting the accurate time of the swimmers. The arnis competition will also be
making use of the touch scoring system.
LCD screens are also being scattered in different venues. Feeds of the games unfolding and updates of the medals and results of the games will continuously be flashed on the screen for everyone to see.
For those who are not in Palawan, real-time updates of the results will also be posted online.
