Beyond medal tally

LOOKING at the medal tally and overall ranking of Davraa Meets from 2019 up to the present as standard performance metrics of the participating DepEd Divisions and LGUs, we could derive a thousand stories of winning and learning.

Records show that DavNor finally clinches second place this year by leaps and bounds from 41 to 73 golds – the Biggest Gainer of the Meet – courtesy of the late * tally of dancesports.

Davao City may be nine golds short compared to its medal haul last year, but it continues to reassert its regional dominance with a whooping 165 golds. Tagum City simply clones its last year’s output of 62 golds but consistently gets high grades in a spread of at least five years.

Panabo City may have just settled for 27 golds but has seven more golds compared to last year and a sterling record of 45 golds in 2019 waiting to be duplicated anytime soon.

Indeed, more stories may be told from this data set from different standpoints.

However, to hastily generalize that one is a failure for not landing on the winners’ podium is a misplaced assertion.

There are more relevant success stories than these statistics. For instance, I know of divisions and LGUs, which became the league’s doormats but have volleyball and basketball tourneys in various corners of the community, effectively keeping the youths healthy and distant from the toxicity of gadgets. Certainly, they are successful.

Some perform below par in the tally but have managed to effectively reach out to the elderlies, LGBTQ+, differently abled, IPs, and other marginalized sectors so they would feel equitably included. Certainly, they are successful.

There are those with only a handful of delegates qualifying for Palarong Pambansa this year but have managed to train hundreds of kids every summer and Christmas break, providing psychosocial remedies to their mental health issues. Certainly, they are successful.

True enough, while this medal tally serves as an indicator and predictor of the performance of the delegations, these should not be taken at face value.

Far more importantly, silhouetting these numbers are beautiful narratives about how lives have been transformed because of sports.