DAVAO del Norte is setting its sights on 100 gold medals when it hosts the Davao Region Athletic Association (Davraa) Meet from March 9 to 15, 2025.
"That's our modest target this year. We won 73 golds last year we've been improving every year," said Giovanni Gulanes, provincial sports coordinator, in an interview with SunStar Davao on February 11 at the Davao del Norte Capitol Pavilion.
Gulanes expressed confidence in their athletes, who will compete for Davraa Meet 2025 slots during the division meet from February 13 to 16.
The Davao del Norte Division Meet 2025 will feature participants from eight municipalities, the private school alliance Alyansa ng mga Pribadong Paaralan, and the Davao del Norte Regional Sports Academy, home to top-tier secondary volleyball and football teams.
He expects the province’s best athletes to shine in the upcoming regional qualifiers for Palarong Pambansa 2025. Among their standout teams are Davao del Norte’s dancesports squads, which secured gold medals in Palaro 2024.
Meanwhile, preparations for hosting the Davraa Meet are well underway, with billeting arrangements set to be finalized soon. A third coordination meeting was recently held, bringing together key stakeholders, including security personnel and the Department of Education (DepEd) Davao Region.
DepEd Davao City Division Superintendent Reynante Solitario commended Davao del Norte's historic achievement in the 2024 Davraa Meet, where they won 73 golds for the first time.
"Dili kaayo magkumpyansa karon. Let's do our best to stay on top. The venue will be in Davao del Norte. Lahat kami maging handa nito. We'll improve our training, make use of the availability of the tournament managers, and train our coaches. With logistics, we have a budget to support the learners' incentives, meals, and snacks (Let's not be too complacent this time. We must do our best to stay on top. The venue will be in Davao del Norte, so everyone must be prepared. We will enhance our training, maximize the availability of tournament managers, and further develop our coaches. In terms of logistics, we have the budget to support the athletes' incentives, meals, and snacks)," Solitario said.
Meanwhile, perennial Davraa Meet champion Davao City has wasted no time preparing. Its qualified athletes began in-house training on February 9, just a day after the Davao City Athletic Association (DCAA) Meet 2025 concluded. MLSA