By Cherry Joy Discaya-Garma
CURRIMAO, ILOCOS NORTE, May 31 (PIA) – The Provincial Government of Ilocos Norte (PGIN) recently convened Ilocano youth to take part of the volleyball clinic with sports superstar from Ateneo de Manila University.
The sports event was held in partnership with the Beach Volleyball Republic, Inc. (BVR) which was on tour with its two-day tournament at the Playa Tropical Resort Hotel, Currimao town here on May 20-21.
The training was led by former Ateneo Lady Eagles Charo Soriano and Bea Tan, aiming to promote beach volleyball in the country.
“We are fortunate that Ilocos Norte warmly welcomed us. Your place is not just a good venue for the game since we have full support from the local and provincial government, but a beautiful place in general because of its duality – you have both access to the beaches as well as the mountains,” said Soriano.
Soriano taught 50 selected children with beach volleyball basics which included the different types of serving and receiving.
Senior Provincial Board Member Matthew Marcos Manotoc considers the BVR on tour as an avenue to not just introduce beach volleyball to our children, but to let the youth experience and learn the game.
“It will eventually open the principles of teamwork, sportsmanship, and discipline to our youth,” he said.
Manotoc, who initiated the cause, has urged the locals for active participation and to continuously promote sports tourism advocacy.
Meanwhile, a total of 42 players from 21 local, national, and international teams competed for volleyball tournament in the three-category games: women’s collegiate, men’s collegiate, and men’s invitational.
Local participants representing Mariano Marcos State University, played by the duo, Mr. Emmanuel Versoza and John Paul Lorenzo, landed in the quarter finals despite playing the beach volleyball for the first time.
Now on its seventh edition, Soriano also shared that the Ilocos Norte BVR Tour handled the biggest numbers of games in a day so far, as they have played five courts in all, comparing to the original two-court tournament in the past.
According to Soriano, they enjoyed a tour in some of the province’s iconic tourist sites, including the Bangui wind mills, right before the games started.
BVR is an organization formed in 2015 by a group of Philippine professional volleyball players. (Cherry Joy Discaya-Garma, PIA-1, Ilocos Norte)
