SEA youth, national athletics championship unfold in Isabela

ILAGAN CITY, Isabela: It is all systems go for the 2017 Ayala Philippine National Open Invitational Athletics Championships, the 12th South East Asian ( SEA) Youth Athletics Championships and the Philippine Athletics Track and Field Association ( PATAFA) here this week.

Close to a hundred delegates from Brunei, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Iraq, Malaysia, Sabah Malaysia, Sabah Kinabalu, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Timor Leste, and the Philippines will arrive in this city on Friday and Saturday.

The 12th SEA Youth Athletics Championships will start with a parade from the City Hall to the Ilagan Sports Complex on Sunday at 4 p. m. and games will be played on Monday and Tuesday.

The delegates to the 2017 Ayala Philippine National Open Invitational Athletics Championships will arrive days later in time for the opening ceremonies on March 29 at 4 p. m.

Philippine Olympic Committee President Jose “Peping” Cojuangco, Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello 3rd who is a native of Ilagan City, PATAFA President Philip Ela Juico, and Isabela Governor Faustino Dy 3rd will be the top personalities to grace the opening ceremonies of the 12th SEA Youth Athletics Championships.

The 12th SEA Youth games will feature 36 athletic events on March 27 to 28 while the 2017 Ayala Philippine National Open Invitational Athletics Championships has 98 events to be contested from March 30 to April 2.

LEANDER C. DOMINGO