WITH a growing support for the game of rugby in Davao City, a total of 27 teams are expected to see action in the Araw ng Dabaw Get Into Rugby Festival III which will kick off on Saturday at the Ateneo de Davao University (Addu) Matina Campus.
Philippine Rugby Football Union (PRFU) senior development officer Rose Mae Lanticse and development officer Blessie Kate delos Santos bared this during yesterday’s edition of the Davao Sportswriters Association (DSA) Forum at the NCCC Food Cove Function Hall.
Lanticse said that more teams are participating for this year’s staging hence, they have divided the Boys Under-14 (U14) division into two namely the Boys U14 Cup and the Boys U14 Bowl.
“Our divisions are based on the performance of the teams in the previous tournaments we held so this time around, we followed the World Rugby format so we could finish the one-day tournament,” Lanticse said in the vernacular.
Other divisions also include the Girl U14 Cup, Open and the Mixed Minis Rugby.
The Boys U14 Bowl Division will follow the single round-robin format with the top two teams competing for the title.
But while the Boys and Girls U14 Cup divisions will also play the single round-robin format, a separate championship for the Plate division will be played between the fourth and fifth placers in each Cup Division.
For the Open division, teams will be divided into two brackets and the top two squads in each bracket will clash in the semifinals en-route to the championship.
Seeing action in the Boys U14 Cup are Matina Aplaya Elementary School (MAES), Don Juan del Cruz Central Elementary School (DJDCES)-A, SOS Children’s Village Davao, Sirawan Beach Elementary School (SBES)- A, Sta. Clara Elementary School (SCES)-A and Foundation of Balay Pasilungan.
In the Boys U14 Bowl, SBES-B,DJDCES-B, Piedad Central Elementary School (PCES), SCES-B and Ramon F. Magsaysay Elementary School (RFMES) are set to go head-to-head.
Pitted in the Girls U14 Cup, meanwhile, are SBES, SOS Children’s Village Davao, DJDCES, PCES, SCES and RFMES.
The open division is composed of the Jr. Durians Puyat, Jr. Durians Arancillo, Koon and Friends, University of Mindanao, Tagum City Friends, Royal Valley Academy, Toril United and Pulang Barako while the Mixed Minis Rugby will feature the match between SOS Children’s Village Davao and Foundation of Balay Pasilungan.
Delos Santos, on the other hand, announced that the tournament will be their basis for selection of players who can form part of the Davao City team which will compete in the Batang Pinoy.
“For me, I am looking for players who have been competing regularly in our tournaments. But I am not really looking for star players since I am rather looking for role players whom I think could contribute,” Delos Santos said in the vernacular.
Lanticse added that the rugbyfest is part of their continuing efforts to develop potential athletes in the grassroots level as well as introducing the game to kids who are interested in playing the game.
Medals and Trophies are up for grabs in the tournament backed by the Sports Development Division of the City Mayor’s Office (SDD-CMO), Pot Bellied Pigs RFC Hong Kong, Mindanao Rugby Football Development Inc., Davao City Sports Council Inc., DHL, Davao Durians Rugby Football Club, Department of Education-Davao City Division and the Philippine Sports Commission.