CLOSE to 2,500 athletes from all over Visayas are set to compete in the 2019 Batang Pinoy Visayas Qualifier leg, which will formally open today at the Iloilo Sports Complex.
Iloilo province sports development officer IV Ray Cabarles said that a total of 2797 Visayan athletes are participating in the week-long sporting event that served as a qualifier for the Batang Pinoy National Finals this October.
Cebu City will be sending in the most number of athletes at 316, followed by Iloilo City with 306, Cebu Province with 296 and Bacolod City with 186 athletes.
Also sending in athletes from the Iloilo side were Iloilo Province, Barotac Nuevo, Barotac Viejo, Batad, Cabatuan City, Dingle, Guimbal, Ibajay, Maasin, Mina, Pavia, Tigbauan, San Miguel, Alimodian, and Zarraga.
From the Negros side, participating were Negros Occidental, Bago City, Escalante City, Himamaylan, Hinigaran, Kabankalan City, La Carlota City, Murcia, Pontevedra, Sagay City, San Carlos City, Cadiz City, and Victorias City.
From the Capiz side were Capiz Province, Mambusao, Sigma and Roxas City, from Aklan side were Aklan Province, Banga-Banga, Kalibo, New Washington, Tangalan, and Numancia. Other Western Visayas participants were Antique Province and Jordan, Guimaras.
Athletics, badminton, basketball, chess, swimming and table tennis are to be held at the Iloilo Sports Complex, while Central Philippine University will host volleyball, sepak takraw and softball.
Other sporting events and their venues: archery (La Paz Football Field), arnis (La Paz Plaza Gym), baseball (Western Visayas State University), boxing (Iloilo Freedom Grandstand), dancesport (Holy Rosary Academy), futsal (Iloilo Science and Technology University), karatedo (SM City Iloilo), lawn tennis (La Paz Tennis Court), pencak silat (Times Square ICC Gaisano), taekwondo (Robinson’s Pavia) and beach volleyball (Joe III Garden).
Sports that will no longer hold qualifying events and will proceed outright to the National Finals were cycling, gymnastics, judo, muay thai, rugby, triathlon, football, weightlifting, wrestling and wushu./PN
