GENERAL SANTOS CITY (MindaNews/16 December) — The Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) has chosen Koronadal City in South Cotabato as host of the 2015 edition of the Philippine Youth Games-National Batang Pinoy.
Koronadal City Mayor Peter Miguel said PSC chair Ricardo Garcia personally relayed such development on Monday during the final bidding for the hosting of the 2015 Palarong Pambansa that was initially won by Tagum City in Davao del Norte.
He said the city is very much ready to host the National Batang Pinoy games, which will be held in December next year.
The 2014 National Batang Pinoy, which was hosted by Bacolod City and Negros Occidental province, was held last Dec. 9 to 13.
“It’s also a major sporting event so we must prepare hard for it,” he said in a radio interview.
A team from the city government led by Mayor Miguel represented the city in the final bidding on Monday for the Palaro that was hosted by the Department of Education (DepEd) central office.
Miguel said they did everything to convince the selection committee to pick the city as host of next year’s Palaro but was eventually edged by Tagum City.
He said Tagum City earned the nod of the committee due to its newly-completed sports facilities.
The provincial government of Davao del Norte had invested around P243-million for the construction of its provincial sports and cultural center, which features an Olympic-size swimming pool, all-weather oval track and 3,000-capacity grandstand.
“But we were able to show to them that our city is a beautiful and peaceful place as well as an ideal venue for major sporting events,” Miguel said.
The Philippine Youth Games–Batang Pinoy serves as the national sports competition program for children and is envisioned to address the country’s need for a “grassroots sports program centered on values formation inherent in the practice of sports and play.”
The annual games is spearheaded by the PSC in partnership with DepEd, Department of the Interior and Local Government, and the Leagues of Provinces, Cities, Municipalities and Barangays.
The Philippine Olympic Committee and National Sports Associations run and oversee the technical management of the event.
Prior to the national games, qualifying legs are held for Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao.
The events featured in the games are arnis, athletics, swimming, triathlon, cycling, boxing, dance sport, cheerdance, volleyball, lawn tennis, table tennis, badminton, chess, softball, taekwondo, futsal, three-on-three basketball, sepak takraw, weightlifting, karatedo, and wrestling. (MindaNews)
