At least 18,000 athletes are expected to compete in the Batang Pinoy and Philippine National Games, which the Philippine Sports Commission will host starting Sunday at the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex in Manila.
As of December 11, close to 14,000 athletes from ages 17 and below are set to take center stage in the Batang Pinoy. Meanwhile, almost 4,000 athletes from ages 18 and above will showcase their talents in the Philippine National Games.
“These games represent another significant milestone in our commitment to promoting sports excellence and development of our young athletes. We are fully committed to providing a world-class platform for our athletes to showcase their talents and compete at the highest level,” PSC Chairman Richard Bachmann said.
The simultaneous staging of BP and PNG will feature 25 sports: archery, arnis, athletics, badminton, basketball 3×3, boxing, chess, cycling, dancesport, football, gymnastics, judo, karatedo, kickboxing, lawn tennis, muay thai, pencak silat, sepak takraw, swimming, table tennis, taekwondo, beach volleyball, wrestling, weightlifting and wushu.
“We want to provide the best possible exposure for athletes of the Batang Pinoy and Philippine National Games. There’s a lot of learning that we got from competitions abroad like the way they conduct it from the registration, the pre-game up to the actual competition, and post-game,” said Executive Director Paulo Tatad, in an interview on the PSC Chatroom program.
“One thing we want to pick up is the custom of exchanging pins. We’re encouraging LGUs to create their own pins. We’re trying to recreate that feel,” he added.
All participants, coaches, and delegations from almost 200 LGUs are set to gather in the opening ceremonies on Sunday, which will be graced by notable alumni of the Batang Pinoy and Philippine National Games, along with other Filipino sports legends.
The opening ceremonies will take place at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
