2016 Northern Mindanao Kicks Off Camiguin Island For Regional Meet
MAMBAJAO, Camiguin Island: For the first time in 20 years, the island born of fire province of Camiguin will host the opening of the Northern Mindanao Regional Athletic Association (NMRAA) this year, the Department of Education (DepEd) announced Wednesday. Camiguin was awarded the most competitive municipality last 2015 where the Six Mindanao provinces made it to the top 10.
More than 7,000 athletes from the four provinces in Northern Mindanao will stay at the sprawling Pedro P. Romualdo Sports Complex in this island capital town for the week-long sports event.
The provincial DepED officials said delegates are the primary and secondary level athletes from private and public schools in Northern Mindanao.
The five-day NMRAA would spread the holding of the other athletic events in other municipal towns of the island province.
Consisting of 14 divisions from the region’s five provinces and nine cities, the athletes would see action in basketball, taekwondo, softball, gymnastics, chess, sepak takraw, swimming, badminton, volleyball, arnis, archery, boxing, billiards, para games, among others.
Rosalio Vitorillo, the athletic manager for the Cagayan De Oro’s 461 players, said the city’s athletes hope to harvest, at least, 100 of the 300 gold medals at stake in this year’s regional meet.
He said that the Cagayan De Oro athletes would like to break its record of 93 gold wins in the NMRAA meet in Oroquita City, Misamis Occidental in 2015.
“As the overall champion of the 2015 regional NMRAA meet, the expectation was high for the Cagayan De Oro City athletes to defend the crown, Vitorillo said in an interview.
He said that the Cagayan De Oro athletes had added a new player in the field of wushu upon learning that wushu was among the new event included in this year’s NMRAA meet.
