APAYAO, Philippines — Student-athletes from all seven municipalities will compete in the Apayao Provincial Athletic Meet for School Year 2026-2027 from September 2 to 5, with events scheduled at different venues in Lower Apayao.

The opening program will be held on September 2 at the Apayao Eco-Tourism and Sports Complex in San Gregorio, Luna.

This year’s meet will also introduce PARA Games, with Bocce and Para Athletics included for athletes with visual, intellectual, and physical impairments.

Much of the attention will be on Pudtol, which will try to defend its long hold on the provincial athletic title, while perennial runner-up Luna will make another run at the championship that has long eluded the municipality.

Calanasan and Flora, meanwhile, remain the dark horses of this year’s meet and could shake up the standings once competition gets underway.

The four-day meet will feature archery, arnis, athletics, badminton, basketball, baseball, billiards, boxing, chess, dancesport, football, futsal, gymnastics, sepak takraw, swimming, softball, taekwondo, lawn tennis, table tennis, volleyball, wrestling, wushu, and weightlifting.

Participating delegations will be billeted in designated schools. Calanasan will stay at Bacsay Elementary School; Conner at Bacda National High School; Flora at Tumog Elementary School or Tumog National High School; Kabugao at Dagupan Elementary School; Luna at Luna Central School; Pudtol at Pudtol Central School or Pudtol Vocational High School; and Santa Marcela at Luna National High School.

Delegation colors are green for Calanasan, maroon for Conner, orange for Flora, sky blue for Kabugao, white and red for Luna, red for Pudtol, and yellow for Santa Marcela.

The competition will also determine Apayao’s representatives to the next Cordillera Administrative Region Athletic Association (CARAA) Meet.

This year’s theme is “Lakas ng Kabataan, Yaman ng Kalikasan: Dangal ng Bayan Tungo sa Matatag na Kinabukasan.”  APIO | Krizza Joy Castillo