Catigbian hands cash awards For 2010 performing athletes

CATIGBIAN Bohol. SPORTS and youth development has gone professional in this town, which has earlier
vowed a no-nonsense program after a humiliating sports performance few years back.

How can we produce the best athletes if we only give them a week of rigid athletic training, Mayor Roberto
Salinas blurted out upon seeing the futility of a haphazard training regimen for their athletes competing in
sports competitions.

On this, the retired navy captain mayor egged his council to back up a sports training program that would
generate the best athletes who shall bring the town’s name in sports competitions.

Recently, aside from bringing home the bacon in sports competitions they participated in, local athletes also
received cash incentives from the local government

Winning athletes who represented the town in this year’s different levels of sports competitions earned cash
awards during the monthly convocation held December 20.

According to Maria Nila Tapales, town information officer, the awarding came after Mayor Roberto Salinas
convinced the local legislators to put up a sports incentive fund through an ordinance.

After that, Catigbian
with another supplemental ordinance of P14,000 to account for the better medal harvest for the year, Tapales
continued.

The P54,00 appropriations this year is different from the appropriations as honoraria for coaches, trainors and
training instructors, appropriation for sports equipment acquisition and financial support to the competing
delegation, she added.

Athletes who competed and reaped awards during the Congressional meet for public schools, BACS meet for
catholic secondary schools, the provincial meet and the Central Visayas Regional Athletic Association (CVRAA
in Dumaguete) each received at least a hundred to a thousand pesos.

After the incentive program was institutionalized, we noticed a flurry of excitement among local athletes who
appear to be more determined to bring out their best and excel in their fields.

Tapales cited that the sports training regimen has also made it possible for Catigbian to send about 21 athletes
to the regional athletic competition.

While the delegation could probably be the biggest among towns here, Catigbian officials were sure that the
harvest of about 7 medals could eloquently tell the success stories.

Catigbianons came home bringing various medals in arnis, sepak takraw, badminton doubles, single lawn
tennis for high schools, javelin throw and swimming. (racPIABohol)