MAYOR Belen Fernandez shares the confidence of the city’s Balon Dagupan delegation that it will retain the championship in the 2018 Region 1 Athletic Association (R1AA) meet that it won in February 2018.

In a talk to newsmen before she departed for the United States, Fernandez said the training of the Balon Dagupan athletes is continuing, copped by their participation in the Summer Sports Clinic held under the auspices of the Dagupan City Sports Commission (DCSC).

It is in swimming where Dagupan City expects to haul most of its gold medals in addition to archery, track and field events, arnis, taekwondo and basketball.

DCSC Commissioner Finnela Sim echoed her own optimism that Dagupan City has a big chance of retaining  its crown in next year’s R1AA meet in view of the continuous training of the athletes since winning the R1AA title.

The Balon Dagupan athletes also joined various tournaments outside the province.

Mayor Fernandez said the DCSC and the City Schools Division have taken in
more athletes to be trained in their respective events.

After being among the cellar-drawers in past R1AA meets, Dagupan finally earned the title this year, after placing first runner-up in 2016 and 2017.

She said the city can be proud of its delegation today after winning only non-event “best in uniform” in the past but hard work and planning made the difference that started with the creation of the DCSC in 2013 to spearhead the campaign to develop and train athletes to make them in top competitive form.

She also directed the renovation of the Dagupan Poolsite, the only Olympic-size
swimming pool in the region where Balon Dagupan swimmers were trained.

DCSC also hired coaches to oversee the year-long training of athletes.

“Today,” she said, “Dagupan is considered a regional power in sports, a legacy for the city.”

Meanwhile, she announced the appointment of Atty. Liberato Reyna Jr. as one of the commissioners of DCSC in charge of boxing, an event that will soon be added in the R1AA beginning next year.

Reyna is also regional director of the Amateur Boxing Association of the Philippines (ABAP), a body responsible for promoting amateur boxing in the country.

“With Atty. Reyna at the helm in boxing in Dagupan, I have no doubt that Dagupan will increase its chances of retaining the R1AA crown in2019 and the coming years ahead,“ Fernandez said. (Leonardo Micua)

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