CVIRAA organizers Says City Of Naga Ready To Host Event

Organizers of the 2016 Central Visayas Athletic Association (CVIRAA) on February 7-13 said the City of Naga, some 21 kilometers south of Cebu City, is ready to host the regional sports event.

Zenaida Gocotano, Department of Education (DepEd) Cebu City sports coordinator, said the city’s newly-constructed swimming pool can now be used for the meet that gathers the region’s best high school and elementary athletes.

Earlier, DepEd officials feared the venue for the swimming event in Naga won’t be finished in time for the meet.

They considered the Cebu City Sports Center as an alternative venue for the swimming events.

Gocotano said the swimming events will be held in Naga but the practice sessions will be at the CCSC swimming pool.

The City of Naga has just completed the construction of two sporting facilities, the Naga City Sports Complex and the Olypmic-sized swimming pool.

The organizers waited until the final week of January before it was confirmed that the Naga City swimming pool will be available for use.

With the recent update, all the events will be held in Naga City, while the billeting centers are in the schools in Naga City and the towns of San Fernando and Minglanilla.

Thirteen divisions will be slugging it out in the elementary and secondary sporting meet, which is a qualifying event for the annual Palarong Pambansa.

Before the creation of the Negros Island Region,there were 19 divisions in previous Cviraa meets.

The organizers said that the delegations from this 13 divisions will start to arrive on Feb. 5, two days before the opening ceremony at the Naga City Sports Complex.

The winners in the Cviraa will represent Central Visayas for the 2016 Palarong Pambansa in Albay on April 9 to 16.

Central Visayas is gunning to bounce back from its lackluster performance in the Palarong Pambansa last year.

The team had its worst finish in Tagum City after dropping to sixth place overall with 18 gold, 29 silver and 29 bronze medals.

For years, Region 7 had always been at fourth place, except for 2013 when it improved to third place. (PNA) LAP/EB/EDS