The Provincial Sports and Development Office is eyeing sponsors to fund the swimming, table tennis and chess competitions of the 2006 Panaad Sportsfest at the Panaad Park and Stadium in Barangay Mansilingan, Bacolod City from April 22 to May 1.

Corporate and individual sponsors will be tapped in case the Provincial Government will not be able to give an additional budget for the three proposed disciplines, Manuel De Oro, officer-in-charge of the PSDO, told the DAILY STAR.

De Oro said he will also try to contact his friends who are working overseas and see if they could help out in funding the additional events.

The inclusion of three more disciplines will push through because some cities and municipalities have already readied their competitors for the swimming, chess and athletics hostilities, he added.

The staging of swimming, chess and table tennis hostilities would mean an additional budget of P70,000 for the Panaad sportsfest that is currently pegged at around P103,800, he said.

The P103,800 allocation, which was also the same amount used to fund the Panaad tilt last year, will be used for the taekwondo, boxing, Mambukal race and boxing.

De Oro said that swimming, table tennis and chess are the disciplines that will be added to the calendar of events because they are individual sports and easier to organize.

About 1,000 athletes are expected to see action in the Panaad sportsfest that is only being staged for the second time after it was not staged in 2004 because of the lack of funds.

The Panaad competitions will be held in April to be part of the Panaad Sa Negros Festival, De Oro said.

A meeting will also be conducted by the Panaad Executive Committee this week to finalize the budget of the Panaad Festival, which will include the allocation for the sportsfest, he added. *CIT

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