CATBALOGAN CITY- A sports clinic intended for the youths of this city was recently opened by Mayor Stephany Uy-Tan.
The sports clinic, formally known as the 1st Catbalogan City Mayor Step Summer Sports Festival, aim to help the youths of the city further harness their skills of their chosen sports discipline.
The sports clinic, launched on April 12 which officially started on Monday (April 17), is under the City Youth Development Office.
Eight sports activities are in line for the sports festival namely: volleyball, basketball, badminton, table tennis, lawn tennis, chess, sepak takraw, and taekwondo. Except for sepak takraw, all sports events are open to both girls and boys.
Zaldy Ilagan, city sports coordinator, said that the festival will start with a clinic, which means that those who will register for a certain sports event will undergo basic training of their chosen event, this is for beginners while those who are already into this kind of sports will be able to further hone their skills.
The city government tapped the coaches from the city division of the Department of Education to handle the training.
Also involved are some volunteers from various sports organizations and enthusiasts in the city.
The city schools superintendent, meanwhile, hopes that the performance of their athletes at the EVRAA (Eastern Visayas Regional Athletic Association) Meet will also improve with this kind of training support from the local government unit.
In her message at the opening, Mayor Uy-Tan called on the young people to engage themselves in sports.
She said engaging our young people and children in sports is a wonderful way to develop lifelong skills, it builds good character such as teamwork, leadership, responsibility and physical fitness among other advantages.
The city, according to the city mayor, aims to develop the full potential of our young constituents through this significant summer sports event.
She also acknowledged partners of the city government in this activity and sends her deep appreciation for their continued support in the implementation of city’s various programs. She also said that this activity is the beginning of a sustainable sports development program that the city has lined up for her 2nd term as the Mayor.
Dennis Cosmod, city youth development officer, said that the city government has allocated substantial fund for this activity and called on the parents to take advantage of this program and register their children.
Expected to last for a month this summer, the sports festival will be capped with a mini sports tournament towards the last week of May. (MYRA M. TAMBOR)
