About 197 athletes and coaches will join the first batch of the Negros delegation that will leave Bacolod City tomorrow to see action in the Western Visayas Regional Athletics Association Meet.

The Negros contingent will leave in two groups --- 8 a.m. and 9:30 a.m. --- via Weesam Express going to Iloilo City before proceeding to Roxas City to prepare for the regional meet. The regional school-based competition is slated March 16 to 21 at the Villareal Stadium in Roxas City, Capiz.

The first batch will be a combination of elementary and secondary athletes, but the different Negros teams will not go as a whole per squad because some of their respective players will leave in the other batches, Nanette Roa of the Department of Education said.

The number of administrative officials and catering staff that will accompany the Negros delegation has yet to be determined, Roa said, adding that some nurses will also be assigned to join the first batch to ensure the safety of the contingent.

Around 233 athletes and coaches will compose the second batch that will leave on March 15, while the third group, comprised of 50 athletes and coaches, will go to Roxas on March 16, she said.

The Negrenses who will leave on March 15 will be divided into two batches --- 8 a.m. and 9:30 a.m. --- also via Weesam Express, while the last batch on March 16 will travel on a single trip, she added.

The elementary competitors of Negros will be vying for 21 team titles, while the Negrense secondary athletes are eyeing 26 team crowns.

The Negrenses snared the overall championship in the secondary division of the regional meet in Iloilo City last year, while the Ilonggos claimed the overall title in the elementary category. Majority of the Negros student-athletes are currently practicing and are billeted at the Panaad Park and Satdium in Barangay Mansilingan, Bacolod City. *CIT

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