SOX earmarks P860K for medalist athletes

KORONADAL CITY, South Cotabato - South Cotabato’s top athletes are assured of financial incentives when they win medals at the SOCCSKSARGEN Regional Athletic Association (SRAA) Meet in North Cotabato, an official here said.

Alex Floro, provincial sports coordinator of the Department of Education South Cotabato Schools Division, announced that the provincial government has allotted P860,000 as incentives to athletes who will return to the province with medals from any of the SRAA sports events. The fund was outsourced from the government’s Special Education Fund.

Floro, noted that the actual amount of the incentive has yet to be determined.

In the past, athletes are rewarded P3,000 for each gold medal, P2,000 for silver and P1,000 for bronze.

South Cotabato was the overall champion of the SRAA Meet in 2016.

South Cotabato 2017 SRAA delegation is composed of 530 athletes and coaches competing against athletes from the provinces of North Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat and Sarangani and the cities of General Santos, Koronadal, Tacurong, Kidapawan, and Cotabato.

SRAA Meet kicked off on Saturday and will continue until Wednesday.

Events include arnis, athletics, badminton, basketball, boxing, sepak takraw, football, gymnastics, sipa, softball, table tennis, taekwondo, tennis and volleyball as well as new games billiard, wushu, futsal and wrestling.

This year, South Cotabato has set aside more than P14 million as support to the athletes who will represent the province in provincial, regional and national athletic competitions.