The Department of Education (DepEd) Schools Division of Antique will review its sports program to improve the performance of its athletes in future regional athletic competitions.

“The training equipment and other resources must be looked into considering that there is only one DepEd schools division in Antique with a lone congressional district,” said Evelyn Remo, chief of the DepEd Antique school governance and operations, in an interview Tuesday.

Antique ranked fourth in the secondary level and fifth in the elementary level in the 2023 Western Visayas Regional Athletic Association (WVRAA) meet held in Aklan on April 26-30.

“Our athletes did a good fight though,” Remo added.

She said that the Antique delegation brought home 11 gold medals in the secondary level and one gold medal in the elementary.

She said that out of the six provinces in Western Visayas, the athletes from the province of Antique, despite their abrupt training, did not end up on the tail-end because they did their best to represent their home province.

Remo added that their athletes have limited time to prepare for the regional meet after the Antique Provincial Athletic Association Meet (APAAM) that was held on March 31 to April 2.

Bigger provinces like Negros Occidental and Iloilo, which dominated the WVRAA, have several schools division and congressional districts that could help provide training equipment and other resources needed by their athletes.

Antique, on the other hand, has very limited means, she said.

The provincial government allocated PHP15 million for the delegation. (PNA)