With less than 100 days to go, the Marikina City local government is ramping up its preparations as the chosen host city for the “Palarong Pambansa” or National Games 2023 this coming July to August.
According to the Marikina Public Information Office (PIO), Mayor Marcelino “Marcy” Teodoro, visited the Sto. Niño Elementary School on Wednesday, May 3, to conduct a walk-thru of the facilities to be used for the games.
Teodoro was accompanied by heads of departments in the city hall, the Schools Division Office (SDO) of Marikina, the principal and the teachers who will facilitate the activities in the school.
The school will be utilized as a billeting or lodging venue for the sports teams and coaches who will be coming from different regions in the country.
The mayor ensured that the rooms, furnished with beds for each assigned team, are safe, clean, organized, convenient, and appropriate for the thousands of delegates that will participate in the games.
(Marikina PIO / MANILA BULLETIN)
This will be the first in-person national games event since the Covid-19 pandemic, which restricted the on-site conduct of the majority of sporting competitions and only allowed online events.
The Palarong Pambansa, in partnership with the Department of Education - National Capital Region (DepEd - NCR), will showcase the skills and talents of young student athletes from various cities and municipalities in the country in the field of sports.
It includes competitions for archery, arnis, athletics, badminton, baseball, basketball, billiards, boxing, chess, dance sports, football, futsal, goal boal, bocce, gymnastics, pencak silat, sepak takraw, softball, swimming, table tennis, tennis, taekwondo, volleyball, wrestling, and wushu.
The opening of the national games will be held on July 31 at the Marikina Sports Center (MSC), while the competitions itself will be from Aug. 1 to 5.
This is the first time that Marikina City will host the 2023 Palarong Pambansa. It was set to host the Palarong Pambansa last 2020, but was suspended by Teodoro when the first Covid case was recorded in the city.
The city has previously hosted other sporting events such as the Palarong Panrehiyon (Regional Games) 2023 last April 22, and the Commission on Higher Education (CHED)'s Friendship Games last June 2022.
The local government continues to welcome invitations and opportunities to support sports, especially for young athletes.
Teodoro has previously expressed the city government’s advocacy to make sports inclusive, citing its integral contribution to youth development to become sports champions.