Pagadian City (October 28, 2019) - Gov. Victor J. Yu renewed his full support to student athletes and the sports program of the province during the opening ceremony of the Palarong Panlalawigan held at the Blue Oval, Provincial Government Complex on Sunday afternoon.
Speaking to around 2,700 athletes from all over Zamboanga del Sur, the governor emphasized to the players the values they can get from sports such as discipline, sportsmanship, teamwork, self-awareness and “never surrender” attitude, as takeaway for this year’s theme “Shaping the Future Through Sports”.
In his brief keynote message, Gov. Yu reiterated the reason behind the closure of the sports academy saying the new administration is only expanding the opportunity for athletes in the province to excel in the field of sports.
“Today’s provincial meet is an opportunity to all athletes and this is a big challenge for the new administration to prove that we are not wrong in closing the (sports) academy to give chance to others," the governor said.
It can be recalled that the academy, an extension of Locuban National High School in Dumalinao town, entirely consumed the Special Education Fund (SEF) which catered only to few scholar athletes.
Gov. Yu disclosed that he has entrusted the full control, supervision and monitoring of the sports activities in the province to the Department of Education (DepEd).
He also assured that athletes in the province will receive training assistance and other privileges to further develop their potentials.
“I will commit to you, don’t worry, we are here to give full support to our athletes,” the governor said.
Gov. Yu concluded his message with a simple inspirational thought to the players.
“If you make this challenge a lesson for you in the future, eventually you are already a winner for yourself,” he said.
This year’s Provincial Meet is participated by five (5) zones that will compete in more than 20 sports events including the paralympics category for physically-challenged athletes from October 27 to October 30.
The competing zones include Zone 1 or Yellow Buffalos (Dumingag, Josefina, Mahayag, Molave, Tambulig), Zone 2 or Blue Hunters (Aurora, Midsalip, Sominot, RM, Labangan, Tukuran), Zone 3 or Red Warriors (Bayog, Dumalinao, Kumalarang, Tigbao, Lakewood), Zone 4 or Orange Troopers (Margosatubig, V. Sagun, Guipos. Lapuyan, San Miguel) and Zone 5 or Green Archers (Dinas, Dimataling, Tabina, San Pablo, Pitogo).