THE Palarong Pambansa is set to be revived three years after it was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Department of Education announced the resumption of the Palaro will be held in Marikina City from July 29 to August 5 under a modified system of qualifying to shorten the event, lower the cost by the delegates, and prevent the disruption of classes.
Pre-national qualifiers
Aside from the division and regional meets set to be held from February 6 to 10, and from April 24 to 28 respectively, the DepEd is also set to hold a pre-national qualifying meet for select team sports to further prune down the number of participants in the Palaro proper.
The 17 administrative regions will be grouped into four clusters by geographical location with the top two in each of the clusters advancing to the national competition.
Cluster One is composed of Ilocos Region, Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, and CAR; Cluster Two is made up of Calabarzon, Mimaropa, NCR, and Bicol Region; Cluster Three will have Western, Central, Eastern Visayas, and Zamboanga Peninsula Region; and Cluster Four will have Northern Mindanao, Davao, Soccksargen, Caraga, and BARMM.
Measurable sports such as athletics and swimming will also adopt qualifying times, distances, and points to clinch a spot in the Palaro.
Other sports that do not have qualifying standards or not identified as team sports will advance directly to the Palaro.
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