After three successive third place finish in the Cordillera Administrative Region Athletic Association, Benguet is making a bold move to improve its finish in the annual regional sports meet.
With the province hosting this year’s largest athletic meet, Benguet is eager to level – up in the over-all standings of the CARAA after three years where it finished third behind powerhouse Baguio and the emerging Apayao.
“We will aim for number one, so that if we don’t get it, automatically we will be number two,” said Gov. Melchor Diclas in jest during a recent press conference.
Estela Carino, Department of Education – Cordillera regional director and current Benguet Schools Division OIC meanwhile said some athletes in the province have undergone special training to help the province improve its medal output in this year’s CARAA.
Among the sports that have undergone special training include gymnastics, dance sports, and some combative sports that are medal – rich events.
“We asked the support of Cong. Eric Go Yap for the funding of the special training of the athletes and the hiring of special coaches in these sports and hopefully, we get good results,” said Carino.
Yap meanwhile said the support given to the athletes in the three sports are just some of the few commitments he promised to help Benguet athletes improve their performance.
“Hopefully makita natin yung produkto nung naka hire tayo nung coach, makikita natin yung produkto sa mga atleta natin. Pag naging succesfull eto, sa susunod mas dadamihan pa natin,” added Yap.
With the recent completion of the aquatic center at the Benguet Sports Complex, Yap said the facility is not just a showcase of how far Benguet has gone in terms of improving its sports facility but will also help swimmers in the province boost their training prior to any competition.
“Hindi pa tayo naka pag concentrate sa swimming for this year dahil yung aquatic center kakatapos lang. Pero hopefully next year, 90 plus gold medals ang paglalabanan ay yung kalahati makuha na natin kasi ang swimming pool natin ay pwede ng gamitin sa training.
While Benguet may have been gunning for an improve finish, Yap also reminded Benguet athletes the true essence of the competition – foster sportsmanship and friendship among competitors.
“Hindi lamang ginto ang pinaglalabanan dito, pati yung character ng bawat atleta ay tinitignan. Ito ang pinaka importante sa lahat,” added Yap
Last year, Benguet mustered 50 gold medals including 91 silvers and 89 bronzes as compared to the 37 -60 – 62 output in 2023 and 35 – 66 – 83 in 2019.
Benguet’s archrival Apayao, produced 62 – 74 – 107 last year when it hosted the event while bagging 53 – 54 – 85 medals in 2023, a far cry from their 69 – 76 – 79 output in 2019, where they also hosted the regional sports meet. Roderick Osis
