TUGUEGARAO CITY, Cagayan—The province of Cagayan retained the championship in this year’s Cagayan Valley Regional Athletic Association or CAVRAA as the weeklong regional sports meet ended at the Ilagan City Sports Complex in Isabela.
Cagayan was declared overall champion among the nine competing CAVRAA school divisions, earning 95 gold, 80 silver and 91 bronze medals. It bested the country’s second largest province, host Isabela, which had an 83-57-89 tally, and Nueva Vizcaya, which posted 51-58-81 in medals.
Gov. Manuel N. Mamba congratulated the Cagayano delegates for a job well done, saying: “I know personally how hard it is to be an athlete, that is why I have provided all the support they need by putting all our resources together to further motivate them.”
Santiago City was fourth with 40 gold, 29 silver and 32 bronze medals, followed by host city Ilagan with 38-53-39. Quirino was sixth at 29-41-41, followed by Tuguegarao City (24-36-60), Cauayan City (8-15-18), and Batanes with two gold, one silver and three bronze medals.
Mamba said athletes who bagged individual gold medals will receive P10,000 from the provincial government, while those with silver and bronze medals will get P5,000 and P3,000, respectively.
The governor said P5,000 in incentives will be given to each Cagayan team that won its event.
Winners from Tuguegarao City, who were fielded separately from the Cagayan delegation, are also entitled to smaller cash incentives. Medalists will only get P5,000, P2,500 and P1,500, for gold, silver and bronze, respectively, along with cash rewards for coaches and trainers of the athletes, Mamba added.
Mamba allocated P13.2 million for the equipment, food and cash allowance of the participants, apart from the sports apparel given by AmCham Foundation through the initiative of the governor’s wife, Atty. Mabel Villarica- Mamba.
Following the parade for the winning delegates, the governor gave their awards through a victory program at the Cagayan Sports Complex.
Ferdinand Narciso, information officer of the Department of Education (DepEd), said this year’s regional athletic meet went smoothly, as everyone admired the sportsmanship showed by all players.
Narciso said Tuguegarao, which was supposed to host this year’s CAVRAA but passed it on to Ilagan City after the massive destruction in the city brought about by super typhoon “Lawin,” has accepted the hosting of the next year’s regional meet.
Cagayan also garnered the “Most Disciplined and Eco-Friendly” award during the meet in Ilagan City from February 22 to 28.