TACLOBAN CITY — The cities of Calbayog and Catbalogan will jointly host the 2027 edition of the Eastern Visayas Regional Athletic Association (EVRAA) Meet, local officials announced during the closing ceremony of this year’s regional sporting event.
The announcement was made at the conclusion of the 2026 EVRAA on Friday, March 6 hosted by Baybay City, where education officials and local leaders confirmed the plan for the two Samar cities to share hosting duties for the annual tournament organized by the Department of Education in Eastern Visayas.
Calbayog City Mayor Raymund Uy said initial discussions have already been held on how the two cities will divide the events, although the final schedule and arrangements are still being worked out.
“We already had initial discussions on the flow of the competition, but this still needs to be finalized,” Uy said.
Based on the preliminary plan, some sporting events will be held in Calbayog during the first week of the competition, while the remaining events will be staged in Catbalogan City in the following week.
The proposed arrangement follows a similar multi-host setup used in EVRAA 2025, when three school divisions—Borongan, Tacloban, and Maasin—shared hosting responsibilities for the regional sports meet.
Calbayog last hosted the EVRAA in 2018, when the Ormoc City Division captured its first championship title in the annual competition.
Mayor Uy noted that hosting the event is expected to bring economic benefits to Calbayog as thousands of athletes, coaches, officials, and supporters from across the region are expected to stay in the city during the weeklong sporting competition.
Meanwhile, Mayor Dexter Uy said the hosting is also a gesture of appreciation to the city’s young athletes who have consistently represented Catbalogan in regional competitions.
Catbalogan finished 10th overall in this year’s EVRAA, winning 10 gold medals, an improvement from its 11th-place finish with three gold medals in the previous edition.
“This hosting is my gift to our athletes because I am already on my last term. This hosting is for them who are very passionate in sports,” the mayor said.
The EVRAA is the region’s largest inter-school sporting event, gathering student-athletes from different school divisions across Eastern Visayas to compete in various disciplines and to select representatives for national competitions.
(ROEL T. AMAZONA)
