6th DanceSport sa Sugbu on today at Waterfront

CEBU, Philippines - Cebu's new breed of dancesport athletes as well as the veterans brace for a tough task of defending their turf as nearly a thousand athletes from all over the country including some foreigners will converge here for the 6th Dancesport sa Sugbu & Queen City Open DanceSport Championship today at the Waterfront Cebu City Hotel and Casino.

The 14-hour tilt will run from 8 am to 10 pm. It covers 21 categories:Juvenile (11 years old and below); Junior (12-15 years old); Youth (16-18 years old); Teacher-Student (40-above), Senior (35-above); Adult (19– 3); Amateur Close for Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao; and Amateur Open.

Before the competition, a simple opening ceremony will take place to be graced by Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) chairman Ritchie Garcia, Cebu City Mayor Mike Rama, Cebu City Sports Commission (CCSC) chairman Ed Hayco, city councilor Richard Z. Osmeña, and Dancesport Council of the Philippines President Ma. Rebecca F. Garcia.

It will be followed by the culminating dance of 200 kids from the DTCC Free Summer Workshop.

Despite the huge turnout of entries, a smoother flow of the event is expected as in Cebu alone, the elimination round had to be conducted a month prior to the tournament in order to accommodate first-time athletes coming from the free dancesport workshops. 

Some 120 couples vied for the top spots during the qualifying that resulted in 36 couples (from 3 divisions - elementary, high school, college) qualified to compete for free in the 6th DanceSport sa Sugbu and automatically absorbed into the Dancesport Team Cebu City training pool. 

Also in Cebu province are athletes representing Mandaue, Talisay, Naga, Carcar and Cebu City.  The rest of the contenders are from Baguio City, Metro Manila, Pasig City and Lucena City in Luzon, Hinunangan, Leyte, Dumaguete, Siquijor, Ormoc, and Bacolod City in Visayas; and Davao, Panabo, Kidapawan, Koronadal, General Santos, Cagayan de Oro, and Tacurong City in Mindanao. 

Participants from other countries such as Brunei, Singapore, and Japan are also paired with Filipino dance teachers to qualify in the teacher-student category.

This competition for a cause is the culmination activity of hundreds of child trainees (mostly underprivileged) who were given regular free dancesport workshops and follow-through trainings in Cebu City’s 80 barangays including the remote mountainous areas made possible by the untiring and selfless efforts of dance teacher-volunteers.

DanceSport Team Cebu City (DTCC) created DanceSport sa Sugbu for the primary purpose of letting these barangay child trainees get a first-hand experience of what it is like joining in a professionally officiated dance competition. The exposure will instill in them self-discipline, self-confidence, and self-worth. This experience will inspire the children to train harder and aspire for a better future. (FREEMAN)