By Gio J. Tanudtanud
THE DAVAO City Track and Field Association, Philippine Athletics Track and Field Association, and AMFM Productions by UMBN spearheaded the Davao City Athletics Festival at the UM Matina Campus Track field oval on March 23.
The formal opening at 10 a.m. was spearheaded by Dr. Guillermo P. Torres Jr., Dr. Meljoy Baral, Kenneth Sai, and Antonio “Tony” Batao who delivered messages and administered the oath of sportsmanship to the participants.
During the formal opening, Torres hoped the festival would shape and motivate aspiring athletes to compete in games and competitions at national or international levels.
“Once again, enjoy this athletic event because this is part of our grassroots development. To develop athletes who later on become a national and Olympic Asian games athlete in the future,” he said.
The festival ran from Mar 23 to 24, participated by 57 teams and 850 participants from various schools of Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. The participants were divided into three categories: 13 under, 18 under, and 19 above ages.
A total of 16 activities were held at the festival consisting of Jumping (Triple jump, High jump, Long jump), Track (100m, 200m, 300m, 400m dashes), and Throwing (Shot put, Javelin, Discus throw).
Individual winners of the events received Gold, Silver, and Bronze medals with team winners receiving cash prizes depending on the category with rewards ranging from P1,000 to P4,000.
