The City of Baguio is preparing for Batang Pinoy, the country’s national youth sports competition for athletes under 15 years old, set on Dec. 4 to 10 in Vigan City, Ilocos Sur.
It will be the first national multi-sporting event to be held in the country during this Covid-19 pandemic.
City Sports Division Head Gaudencio Gonzales said elimination rounds have been concluded for the 17 events lined up with the participation of the different local sports associations.
Gonzales said the athletes are excited and are looking forward to again joining the national sports meet after two years of absence.
However, not all sports events will be played face-to-face like arnis, dancesport, judo, karate, muay, pencak silat, taekwondo, and wushu, which will be conducted virtually.
Only archery, athletics, badminton, chess, cycling, table tennis, swimming, weightlifting, and game sport will be played in-person.
Around 150 athletes from the city are expected to be drafted for the meet.
Unlike the Palarong Pambansa, which only involves student athletes, the Batang Pinoy includes the out-of-school youth.
It is jointly undertaken by the local government units, the Department of Education, and the Philippine Sports Commission.
The Batang Pinoy national finals was last held in 2019 prior to the suspension of all national events in 2020 and 2021 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
That year, Baguio achieved its mission, as it retained the overall title and the P3 million windfall in the Batang Pinoy national finals, bringing a total haul of 61 gold, 48 silver, and 63 bronze medals.
Cebu was at second place with 34-34-29 medals followed by Davao with 31-24-37, Laguna with 27-24-18, and Quezon City with 25-25-23. – Aileen P. Refuerzo
