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Friday, August 18, 2006
A showcase of talents, a time to renew rivalry
By Charles Raymond A. Maxey
EVERY time the Kadayawan sa Dabaw comes around, all roads lead to Davao City as the event--a celebration for bountiful harvest--not only attracts people from other parts of the Philippines but also lures visitors from all over the world.
The entire month of August is one remarkable moment for the people of Davao, from government officials to ordinary citizens, as a series of activities are being held to give excitement to every Dabawenyo and, of course, local and foreign guests who venture their way to every nook and cranny of the city just to have fun.
This is also the time for the Davao athletes and those from other parts of the country to showcase their skills as Davao City Mayor Rodrigo R. Duterte has made it sure that sports will be one of the activities to highlight the Kadayawan festival.
This year is no different from the previous years. City sports coordinator Christopher "Bong" Go revealed that nearly P600,000 has been allocated by City Hall for sports alone in this year's Kadayawan. The budget will be used to organize tournaments in 16 events, which are scattered in different venues.
Some of the events had already been concluded while others like basketball, the centerpiece event of this year's Kadayawan, are still ongoing.
Giving the athletes a chance to display their skills and allow them to compete against the best is a top priority of the Duterte administration.
"We have lined up quite a number of sports activities as part of the Kadayawan Festival not just to spice up the celebrations, but to give again an avenue for our young athletes to hone their skills," Go said.
"We are glad to inform you that Mayor Duterte has approved of the various events because we provide our Davao athletes another venue for them to test their abilities and calibrate what is needed for their improvement," Go added.
Athletes from other parts of the country usually come around to participate during the Kadayawan, giving quality competition in every arena.
The sports activities actually rolled off with the bowling tournament in the last week of July at the Dover Lanes and will end with the softball event, which will conclude on September 10 at the University of Mindanao Matina campus.
Cycling, chess, football, dama, volleyball, billiards, swimming, boxing, dancesports, tennis, sepak takraw and kararedo are also being held in various venues.
There are also water sports to spice up the Kadayawan like kayaking, motorboat racing and fishing.
Basketball is easily the main event of this year's sports festivities, with top commercial teams from the neighboring provinces and Visayas coming over to Davao to give the fans good basketball.
M. Lhuillier MP Kwarta Padala of Cebu, Ozamiz City, Digos-Montaña, Pacman-Gensan and host Duterte Agilas saw action in a four-day tournament at the Almendras gym that was filled to the rafters every playing day.
Local cage fans who have been dying to again see quality basketball had a grand time throughout the tournament. Even Mayor Duterte made himself available during the opening to welcome the participants.
Elsewhere, in other sports events, the Davao athletes compete for glory, and there's no stopping them from scaling greater heights in the field of sports. Davao City, after all, is not only known for its durian and waling-waling. This is also the place where Southeast Asian Games triple gold medal winner in diving Shiela Mae Perez comes from.
For Bisaya stories from Davao. Click here. (August 18, 2006 issue)
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