ARMMAA 2012 reels off

LAMITAN CITY, Basilan -- The 2012 Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao Athletic Association (ARMMAA) meet kicked off Saturday with officials encouraging the athletes “to aim for the best.”

The week-long athletic competition is being participated by some 6,000 athletes composed of 12 athletic delegations coming from the provinces of Basilan, Lanao del Sur, Maguindanao, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi and the cities of Lamitan and Marawi.

The largest athletic contingent is from the province of Tawi-Tawi.

“Aim high and aim for the best,” Armm officer-in-charge Governor Mujiv Hataman told the athletes.

Hataman encouraged the athletes to set a goal not just in participating in the 2012 ARMMAA but to be able to reach to the Palarong Pambansa and possibly in the Olympics.

Hataman also enjoined them to be instruments of peace as this year's sports competition is themed: “Bridging Peace, Unity and Development through Sports.”

“Let sportsmanship and discipline be the order of the day,” Basilan Congressman Jim Salliman, the elder brother of Hataman, told the athletes.

Lamitan City Mayor Roderick Furigay said the hosting of the ARMMAA 2012 gives them the opportunity to showcase the best of the city especially in the field of tourism.

“We may not provide you excellent facilities but we will offset it with warm hospitality,” Furigay said.

Lamitan City has pristine beaches and beautiful falls like the Bulingan Falls.

Furigay has thanked Hataman and Salliman for their full support to the City Government in the hosting of ARMMAA 2012.

The holding of this year's ARMMAA is the second time this city played hosts.

The first time Lamitan played hosts to ARMMAA was in 2005 when it was still a municipality. (Bong Garcia)