BAGUIO CITY – Mayor Mauricio G. Domogan challenged the athletes of the city to continue training hard in order for them to continue reaping honors for themselves and the city in bigger sports competitions instead of embracing bad vices that would compromise their career as athletes.
Domogan made the appeal to the athletes to stay away from bad vices when the 800-man delegation of the city paid a courtesy call to city officials to present to them the championship trophies that they were able to retain for both the elementary and secondary levels during the recently-concluded Cordillera Administrative Region Athletic Association (CARAA) sports meet.
“We hope that you will not become drunkards, gamblers and drug addicts in the future because of your misdeeds. We pray that you will become exemplary athletes worthy of emulation by your younger brothers and sisters,” Domogan stressed.
He advised the athletes to take care of their health by always keeping themselves in good condition and ready for all types of competition so that they will continue to bring honor and pride to the city in future local, regional, national and international competitions.
It can be recalled that the athletes of Baguio City retained the overall championship in both the elementary and secondary levels during the recently concluded CARAA sports meet after bringing home a total of 197 gold medals.
Domogan cited the total gold output of the city is still higher compared to the 135 total gold output of all the six competing provinces in the regional sports meet.
The local chief executive asserted today’s young athletes should not emulate the bad examples set by older generations of local athletes where most of them because drunkards, gamblers and abandoned their good conditioning that resulted to their being lost in the course of progress.
Aside from giving the athletes pieces of brotherly advise, Domogan directed concerned department of the city government to fastrack the processing of the release of the incentives of the winning athletes so that they will have something to use for their future trainings as well as for their basic needs.
He called on the athletes to properly use their incentives for the good of their health and for their career as athletes instead of using the same for the bad influence of their friends.
For gold medalists, athletes receive P1,000 in cash benefits, P750 for silver medallists and P500 for bronze medalists.
He said that if no province will bid for the hosting of next year’s CARAA, the city government will again bid to host the 2016 CARAAA sports meet with new facilities within the Baguio Athletic Bowl considering that its tartan track oval will be completed anytime this year while other amenities will still be subjected for upgrading.
He said the inconveniences suffered by the athletes and coaches in this year’s CARAA will no longer be experienced next year considering that the city government is rushing everything in order to make the Athletic Bowl fit for the hosting of regional and national sports competitions.
By Dexter A. See
