Over 4,000 athletes compete in Batang Pinoy Games

Over 4,000 athletes and 2,000 coaches and officials will converge in Bacolod City, Negros Occidental, Dec. 1-7 for the third edition of the Philippine National Youth Games-Batang Pinoy.

Commissioner Amparo "Weena" Lim, Batang Pinoy project director, announced yesterday that all systems are green and go for the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) grassroots sports development program which is open to children athletes aged 12 and below.

"Everything is ready for the third Batang Pinoy, including the co-hosts–Bacolod City and Negros Occidental–which are again putting their best foot forward for the staging of the meet," said Lim.

No less than President Arroyo has been invited to grace the opening ceremonies on Dec. 1. The third Batang Pinoy is actually the first major national sporting competition under the presidency of Mrs. Arroyo.

This will be the second time that Bacolod City and Negros Occidental will co-host the Batang Pinoy at the sprawling Panaad Sports Complex in Barangay Mansilingan.

The deal making the Panaad Sports Complex venue for the Games was forged in formal memorandum of agreement signed two weeks ago by PSC chairman Carlos Tuason, Bacolod City Mayor Luzviminda Valdez, Negros Occidental Gov. Joseph Maranon and Lim.

The Batang Pinoy inaugurals in 1999 were also held in Panaad, the same venue where the Centennial (1998) and Millennium (2000) Palarong Pambansa were staged.

Lim said the PSC is optimistic the third Batang Pinoy would be another success, adding she expects operations to be smoother and competitions to be tighter.

"The PSC has made it a point to improve on the first two stagings of the Batang Pinoy and with this third edition, we are more hopeful our objectives would be achieved -- that is, to principally provide the best sporting venue for our future sports heroes," she said.

Meanwhile, Tuason, in stressing the PSC’s role in the grassroots level, said that they are confident "that the commission would again be fulfilling a role as it is tasked to play. And with the staging of the third edition of the Batang Pinoy, President Arroyo’s vision for sports, partcularly in the grassroots, will be attained."