CVIRAA 2012 Archery Awarding Ceremony



Photo Credit | Spondon Trophies

"Victory isn't defined by wins or losses. It is defined by effort. If you can truthfully say, 'I did the best I could, I gave everything I had,' then you're a winner." ~Wolfgang Schadler

I always love to look forward to Awarding Ceremonies because it's about celebrating people and their victories. The Archery Awarding Ceremony this afternoon was about celebrating the triumph of the best of the best archers in the 2012 Central Visayas Regional Athletic Association (CVIRAA). It's about how the archer prepared himself or herself for the tournament... it's about what one has for every arrow released into the air... it's about time, energy, money, and effort to reach this stage... it's about the sacrifices of the parents, families, teachers, trainers, coaches, friends... it's even about things that are never listed in the Archery protocols, rules, and regulations.

I felt good and honored to be at the awards ceremony. I didn’t get any individual medal except for a silver medal in our Team Event but I was honored to be there this afternoon!

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"Love the game. Love the game for the pure joy of accomplishment. Love the game for everything it can teach you about yourself. Love the game for the feeling of belonging to a group endeavoring to do its best. Love the game for being involved in a team whose members can't wait to see you do your best. Love the game for the challenge of working harder than you ever have at something and then harder than that. Love the game because it takes all team members to give it life. Love the game because at its best, the game tradition will include your contributions. Love the game because you belong to a long line of fine athletes who have loved it.  It is now your legacy. Love the game so much that you will pass on your love of the game to another athlete who has seen your dedication, your work, your challenges, your triumphs... and then that athlete will, because of you, love the game."  ~ Unknown

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 Here are some of the medals waiting to be awarded to deserving and winning archers.

Winning means you're willing to go longer,

work harder, and give more than anyone else.

~ Vince Lombardi

I am very fortunate that at 12, I have what other archers could only dream about... I have the best coaches and mentors that one could ever have. With only around 6 months of handling the bow and arrows, I have joined this competition and managed to rank number 7 overall out of 28 best girl archers from the region. I wish to thank my coaches - Coach Architect Dondon Sombrio, Coach Joe Montalvo and Coach Jennifer 'Jing' Chan for all the help and sacrifices they have given me. I hope they will never get tired of coaching and molding me into a champion like them someday.

With Coach Jing (Olympian Archer Jennifer Chan). Though I have not reaped Individual medals during this tournament, I believe that with the excellent mentoring of my coaches like Coach Jing, I will be able to develop my archery skills in preparation  for future Archery Competitions like this...

Here's Rey Anne Flores of Cebu City flanked by two girl archers from Mandaue City. Rey Anne swept almost all the gold medals in the Girls Individual events. The Mandaue City girl archers also showed great shooting prowess.

Here are two boy archers from Cebu City standing beside the winner of this event. This could be Karl Mari, a bemedalled Archer from Dumaguete City

The Cebu City Girls Team (Trio) receiving their silver medals in the Girls Team Event with the rest of the team, coach, and chaperone. Members of the trio are -#1 - Rey Ann Flores (1096), #7 - Chloe Eunice Abad (867), and #11 - Saralee Garcia (807).

Hahaha... I was trying to run away from the cam but my mom was able to get this snap 

"Somewhere behind the athlete you've become and the hours of practice and the coaches who have pushed you is a little girl who fell in love with the game and never looked back... play for her."

- Mia Hamm

The Cebu City Archers with the chaperone and coach. All the Cebu City Archers are from Gothong National High School. I am the  only one from Cebu Normal University - Integrated Laboratory School.

When you put on that jersey,

the name on the front is more important

than the name on the back.

~ "Miracle"

"When all is said and done,

it's not the shots that won the championship that you remember, but the friendships you made along the way." ~ Unknown

Archery CVIRAA 2012 | Day 3, Wednesday, December 5, 2012

I thought Day 3 of CVIRAA 2012 will also be cancelled as Typhoon Signal #2 was still in force in Dumaguete City. I learned yesterday evening that Dep Ed Region 7 Director met with the Schools Division Superintendents and decided to tentatively cancel today's sports activities depending on the outcome of the weather.

It was not a convenient night last night as mom and I were not able to sleep well at the Island's Leisure Boutique Hotel because of the power black out that started yesterday evening. We had to put off our phones to save on the battery so we can use only in case of emergency during the onslaught of Typhoon Pablo (aka Bopha - International Name). Both mom and I were restless and I really pity mom as she was still nursing a slight back pain. From time to time, we would put on one phone after another to monitor the status of the weather in Cebu City and  also to check on Kuya Kevin and Ate Gabrielle. We also had to check Ate Fe in Brookfields. We are very thankful to God that there was no big damage in Dumaguete City and everything is fine back home in Cebu.

Despite our lack of sleep, we woke up early to go to the Silliman University Archery Range to check on any changes in the schedule.

This was how the garden with the red fountain at the hotel greeted us when we got out of our room. The sky was still gloomy but the sun rays gave us hope that it was going to be a fine day.

We got to the Archery Range at past 7:00 and this was how it looked like. The ground was full of debris - branches and leaves from the old acacia trees that lined along the range.

As soon as we learned that the Games will resume in the afternoon, we went to a coffee shop to charge our phones and we started to look around for a hotel that has a power generator. It was quite difficult to find one at this time. There was one we found but I whispered to mom that it doesn't look like a hotel but a resto bar. "Bahala na oi basta naa ray matulugan." :-)

That morning itself we moved in our things to our newfound hotel and immediately hurried back to the Archery Range by 12:00 noon as the competition will start at 1:00 pm. I had no time for lunch because I felt I still had a full stomach. It was probably my excitement to compete that made me feel full.

It was very warm and humid, a usual phenomenon after a storm and even before the games began, I started to perspire all over... My, the other older girls were just okay and here I am, the youngest competitor sweating it out like a horse. :-(

There are 28 girl archers from all over Region 7 that competed and I was assigned at Target Butt Range 4B. All the Cebu City archers were assigned in the B Range (1B, 2B, 3B, 4B).

Other range assignments are: 1A, 2A, 3A, 4A - Dumaguete City Archers; 1C, 2C, 3C, 4C - Mandaue City Archers; 1D, 2D, 3D, 4D - Cebu Province Archers; 5B, 6B, 7B, 8B - Bohol Province Archers; 5C, 6C, 7C, 8C - Lapulapy City Archers; 5D, 6D, 7D, 8D - Tagbilaran City Archers.

It was a tough competition in the 30 meter qualifying round and I ranked 6th out of 28 with a total of 276 points. That was a 27 points improvement of the 249 points at the 22nd Cebu City Olympics where I placed 2nd.

For the 40 m qualifying round, I had a bad attack of migraine and I started to feel weak. My shoulders started to falter and my hand was often hit by the bow string. I cried because my shoulder was hurting. Coach Joe by the way is also a nurse and he assisted me when I cried. Coach Jing was there too to guide us on what to do. My ever-supportive mom had to look around for ice cubes to put on my shoulder to appease the pain but ice cubes were nowhere to be found since there was a long brown out the night before till today. Mom went to the Silliman University Medical Center and asked for some ice cubes to be used for an athelete's injury... She got some and that helped me a lot. Then, I started to feel hungry. It's not coincidental but I believe it was God who brought mom's colleague in the judiciary from Dumaguete City, Judge Tan to visit us during the competition... and would you believe he brought snacks for me. :-))

I ranked 12th in the 40 m with only 212 points. This was lower than the 217 points that I got in Cebu City last month.

After the 30 and 40 meters qualifying round, I ranked 9th overall. The cumulative Top 10 after the two events were from:

1. Cebu City
2. Mandaue City
3. Mandaue City
4. Mandaue City
5. Dumaguete City
6. Cebu Province
7. Mandaue City
8. Dumaguete City
9. Cebu City - :-) This is me
10. Cebu Province

Tomorrow will be the qualifying round for the 50 and 60 meters. It can be anybody's game. I hope to maintain my position the least or improve it if I can.

I learned that one has to have the stamina to sustain till the last rounds...to be in a healthy condition all the time. Because of the suspension of the Games in Day 2, the schedules were clamped together and there was really no time anymore for me to rest. It was a continuous shooting and young as I am and a neophyte in tournaments like this, it was a bit difficult for me. Competition is never to be taken for granted. Practice...practice and more practice because correct practice makes perfect! I'm confident that with the support of mom and dad and my siblings plus the champion and Olympian archers as my mentors, I will make it to the top soon. As they say in Saudi Arabia where my dad is, Inshallah (God willing)!

Well, good night everyone... this 12-year old Grade 7 CNU student (or should I say, this baby? ;-) )needs to get a good night's rest tonight! :-)