Kalinga athletes inspired by Bata, Django
by Peter A. Balocnit
TABUK, Kalinga (9 October) -- To support athletes excel in competitions, the Sangguniang Panlalawigan through Resolution No. 167 requested the Philippine Sports Commission to provide one boxing ring, taekwondo mat and swimming pool rope with plastic balls for the province of Kalinga.
Provincial Board member Antonio Bakilan Sr, who sponsored said resolution also disclosed that the provincial government has appropriated P1 million for sports development particularly the conduct of the provincial meet and the hosting of the Cordillera Administrative Region Athletic Association meet (CARAA) in 2007.
Physical, Health and Music Supervisor Alfredo Budaden said Kalinga has great potentials in athletics, swimming and lawn tennis. Last year, local athletes won bronze medal in the national taekwondo competition.
He added that the 2,000 provincial athletes who are preparing to compete in the provincial meet on October 24-28 this year are inspired and challenged with the successful feats of billiards wizards Efren 'Bata' Reyes and Django Bustamante. President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo recently conferred the Order of Lakandula with the rank Champion for Life on Reyes and the Presidential Medal of Merit on Bustamante for their achievements in the sport.
It is all systems go for the conduct of the provincial meet, Budaden said as he expressed gratitude to the provincial officials for the resources provided and the Department of Education for its counterpart of P100,000.00.
To ensure that athletes will be highly competitive, Budaden said training should start in the district level with close supervision of sports coordinators. Time should be devoted in the early stage of the preparation to have adequate training. Coaches should sacrifice by closely supervising the athletes, he said.
Meanwhile, the National Music Competition for Young Artists (NaMCYA) is still a major program of the Kalinga DepEd Division. However, selection is no longer done in the local level but it is the national that selects participating groups.
Budaden said the Division has an organized group under the Division Music Association ready to compete if selected. The traditional ensemble is the masterpiece and entry of the group. Private schools can participate and participants can earn points in academic from curricular activities they join in, he said. (PIA-Kalinga) [top]
