SCUAA National Olympics opens Monday

More than 5,000 athletes and officials are expected to fill up the Melanio Singson Sports Complex in Ilagan town on Monday when the province of Isabela hosts the 2011 State Colleges and Universities Athletic Association (SCUAA) National Olympics. The week-long competitions, supervised by the Philippine Association of State Universities and Colleges (PASUC), will gather athletes and officials from 109 state universities and colleges in 16 regions in the country. "The 2011 SCUAA National Olympics provides an opportunity for the tertiary students to participate in sports competitions and will enable the outstanding athletes to show their skills and talents to someday represent the country in international sports competitions," said PASUC president Dr. Lauro B. Tacbas. Participants will compete in 14 sporting events – namely: athletics, badminton, baseball, basketball chess, dancesports, football, lawn tennis, sepak takraw, softball, swimming, taekwondo, table tennis and volleyball. The opening ceremony will start at 8 a.m. on Monday, while a fellowship night will be held at 6 p.m. the same day. Hostilities kick off the following day, Tuesday, with the finals of all the events including the awards and closing ceremonies will be held on February 26. National Capital Region (NCR), Cordillera, Ilocos, Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, Southern Tagalog, Bicol, Western Visayas, Central Visayas, Eastern Visayas, Zamboanga/ARMM, Northern Mindanao, Southern Mindanao, Central Mindanao and CARAGA are the participating regions. – JVP, GMA News