CALABARZON sprinter says dreams, hard work key in Palaro journey

To Loraine Audrey Batalla, competing in the country’s largest youth sporting event was both a dream come true and a culmination of years of hard work and grit.

The 14-year old sprinter from Calamba City was part of the CALABARZON Heroes delegation who competed in the 2023 Palarong Pambansa. Batalla claimed the region’s first gold medal after placing first in the Secondary Girls 3,000-meter run with a 10:49.7 record.

“Sobrang saya ko po dahil ito po ang pinangarap kong laruin simula pa noong Elementary [student] pa lamang ako, at ngayon ay natupad na po ito. Hindi ko rin po akalain na mananalo po ako kasi sa pagkakaalam ko po ngayon [ay] iba na ang laban sa Palarong Pambansa,” she said.

Launched in 1948 as the Bureau of Public Schools-Interscholastic Athletic Association Meet (BPSIAA) or National Sports Meet, the Palarong Pambansa gathers the best young athletes in the country. It is cited as the culmination of year-long competitions which pools the regions’ best student-athletes into a single team that will compete against the other regions.

Qualifying in the regional team is considered prestigious that Lorraine and her coaches trained for months, leading up to the preliminary competition or the division meet.

Aware that she will face tough competition in pursuit of her Palarong Pambansa dream, Batalla was thankful that behind her was a strong support system composed of her coaches, teammates, and family.

“Naging motivation ko po sa paglalaro ang mga magulang ko. Dahil po sa tiwala at suporta na ibinigay nila sa akin, napagtagumpayan ko ang laro ko sa regional meet at nakapasok sa Palarong Pambansa. Isa na rin po yung coach ko, dahil sa tulong na ipinaranas nila sa akin ay naging part po ako ng Palarong Pambansa.”

In January, Undersecretary Revsee Escobedo signed DepEd Memorandum No. 5, s. 2023 announcing the resumption of division, regional, and the clustered pre-national qualifying meets leading to the Palaro. Per the memorandum, division meets were supposed to take place on February 6 to 10, 2023 to coincide with the midyear break, while pre-national qualifying meets were slated on April 24 to 28, 2023 considered the end of academic quarter 3.

The pre-national qualifying meet features team sports such as baseball, basketball, football, futsal, sepaktakraw, softball, and volleyball. The regions were clustered into four (4) based on their geographical location, placing CALABARZON in Cluster 2 alongside MIMAROPA, Bicol Region, and the National Capital Region.