2024 CVIRAA Meet gets under way with grandopening ceremony today

CEBU, Philippines — Over 12,000 athletes, coaches, and officials from 20 schools divisions will converge in the Queen City of the South as the highly anticipated 2024 Central Visayas Regional Athletic Association (CVIRAA) Meet blasts off with an elaborate rites today at the Festival Grounds of South Road Properties (SRP) where the Sinulog was staged last January.

Assembly time is at 4 p.m. to be followed by the parade of athletes, and then the formal opening ceremony at 6 p.m.

Cebu City Mayor Mike Rama, sports commission chairman John Pages, Department of Education (DepEd)-7 Regional Director Dr. Salustiano Jimenez, and schools division superintendent Dr. Nimfa Bongo banner the list of luminaries set to grace the grand kick-off bash.

DepEd Undersecretary Atty. Revsee Escobedo is the keynote speaker.

John Lexter Conde of Don Bosco Technical College (DBTC) will lead the oath of sportsmanship, while Tomas Pastor of the DepEd regional office will do the oath of coaches and technical officials.

Councilor Dondon Hontiveros, a former basketball star turned public servant, will spearhead the entrance of delegation flags before Jimenez will formally declare the tournament open.

In all, 24 disciplines that will be contested in the week-long sports conclave.

These are the medal-rich athletics and swimming, archery, arnis, badminton, baseball, basketball (3x3 and 5x5) billiards, boxing, chess, dancesport, football, futsal, gymnastics, pencak silat, sepak takraw, softball, table tennis, taekwondo, tennis, volleyball, wrestling, and wushu.

There will also be four para-games namely bocce, goal ball, athletics, and swimming for differently-abled student-athletes.

More than a qualifying event for the forthcoming Palarong Pambansa, the CVIRAA Meet also serves as a litmus test for the city as it braces for a more tedious task of hosting the Palaro this July. – EBV