The Department of Education Regional Office III shall conduct the Central Luzon Regional Athletic Association (CLRAA) Meet on April 24-28, 2023 in various playing venues in the region.
This is in accordance with DepEd Memorandum No. 5, s. 2023 or the Conduct of the 2023 Palarong Pambansa, which provides that Division Meets and Regional Meets shall be conducted on February 6-10 and April 24-28, respectively, as recommended by the Palarong Pambansa Secretariat.
“We are delighted to hold the CLRAA once again after more than three years as a result of the pandemic because our learners who excel in various sports activities will once again be given the opportunity to further improve their skills and discipline relative to their respective sports category,” said Regional Director May Eclar.
The Opening Program will be held simultaneously at the DepEd Regional Office III Covered Court and other playing venues in the region.
The sports events include Archery, Arnis, Athletics, Badminton, Baseball, Basketball, Basketball 3×3, Billiards, Boxing, Chess, Dancesport, Football, Futsal, Gymnastics, Paragames, Sepak Takraw, Softball, Swimming, Tennis, Table Tennis, Taekwondo, Volleyball, Wrestling, and Wushu.
The participants in the Regional Meet shall be elementary and secondary (both junior and senior high school learners) athletes from public and private schools who participated in the local meets (Cluster, District, and Division Meets).
The regional athletic meet is in preparation for the Pre-National Qualifying Meet, an additional tier before the conduct of the Palarong Pambansa which will be held on July 29 to August in Marikina City. The Pre-National Qualifying Meet aims to lessen the number of delegations, shorten the duration of the event, and lower the expenses to be incurred—all without sacrificing the level of play.
As such, the said new level will only feature team sports such as baseball, basketball, football, futsal, sepak takraw, softball, and volleyball.
Under the new tier, delegations will be clustered into four groups based on their geographical location. Cluster 1 is comprised of the Ilocos Region, Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, and Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR); Cluster 2 is CALABARZON, MIMAROPA, NCR, and Bicol Region; Cluster 3 is Western, Central, and Eastern Visayas and Zamboanga Peninsula Region; and Cluster 4 is Northern Mindanao, Davao, SOCCKSARGEN, CARAGA, and BARMM.
The top two regional delegations per cluster will then advance to the actual Palarong Pambansa event.
Measurable sports such as athletics, swimming, and archery will adopt the qualifying distance, time, and points set by the Palarong Pambansa. Other sports that do not apply qualifying standards in the selection of athletes and are not identified as team sports will advance directly to the Palarong Pambansa culminating competitions.
The modified competition format aims to prevent the disruption of classes and to observe minimum public health and safety protocols as stated in DepEd Order No. 34, s. 2022, and other relevant policies and guidelines issued.