GREAT STRIDES IN SPORTS BY AKLAN YOUNG ATHLETES

GREAT STRIDES IN SPORTS BY AKLAN YOUNG ATHLETES

By RAQUILIZA A. DOMINGUEZ Teacher III

They are no longer the chasing boys and girls at the track oval. They are no longer the turtle paced swimmers at the pool. And no longer the athletes so raw and akward in other field of sports events. They had started to excel and shine at the regional and national spheres of sports competition.

Aklanon young athletes are no longer the huffing and puffing sportsmen of the region during the past decade.

Kudos must be given to the sports officials of the DepEd, Division of Aklan, the provincial government and the sports-minded private sector and private schools institutions.

Aklan athletic delegation to the Regional Palaro in Western Visayas and the National Palaro during the past five years produced decent  if not phenomenal results when compared with their performance in the past when medals, even bronze, was very elusive.

Aklanon athletes reaped a total of 111 golds, 172 silvers, and 299 bronzes during the last five years of the Regional Palaro stagings, from 2011 to 2015. Aklan always landed third behind powerhouse sports delegations of Negros Occidental and Iloilo. With the separation of the Negros provinces from the administrative region of Region VI, expect Aklan to rank second behind Iloilo in the next stagings of the Palaro.

During the last five years, Aklanon athletes harvested a total of 31 golds, 21 silvers and 26 bronzes in the National Palaro stagings, a feat never been accomplished during the past decades.

Swimmers like Lozada and Kyla Soguilon attained superstardom in the national and international swimming tournaments.

Barefoot long distance runner de Josef attained prominence in the national level competitions.

Aklan sports has indeed gone a long way to bring honors to Aklan and the Aklanons.

Aklan with its sprawling sports complex in Calangcang, Makato, has hosted twice the WV Regional Palaro during the last five years and the Visayas Leg of the Batang Pinoy.

Still with the active DepEd participation, Aklanon athletes captured 27 golds, 20 silvers and 24 bronzes during the recently concluded Batang Pinoy held in Romblon late this year./MP