Lingayen – “Give respect to your competitors because they bring out the best in you,” thus stressed by Board Member and Liga ng mga Barangay Provincial President Amado “Pogi” Espino, III to athletes during the opening program of the 2015 DepEd Pangasinan 1 Meet held at the Narciso Ramos Sports and Civic Center (NRSCC) gymnasium on November 12.

Speaking before 2,000 athletes, coaches and school heads from three congressional districts of DepEd Pangasinan 1, BM Espino, who represented Governor Amado T. Espino, Jr. as guest of honor and speaker, said that respect is vital in every game and must always be accorded to everyone.

The young Espino, who served for three terms as Mayor of Bautista town before he was elected as board member, likewise asked the young Pangasinan athletes to refrain from doing things which might lead them to bad direction.

“As you compete, you not only carry the banner of your respective schools and municipalities or cities, but also, you take pride in hoisting the banner of the province of Pangasinan,” BM Espino said.

Meanwhile, Schools Division Superintendent Ma. Celia Fernandez noted that athletes must change the obsolete perception about competition which is ‘competing with others,’ and added that a player must struggle and compete against himself to surpass his previous performance.

An athlete competing individually, Dr. Fernandez added, enables himself to break borders that limit what he can achieve further.

The schools division superintendent has also asked the teachers and coaches to remain supportive to their players as involve in agreeable things and procedures during the tournament.

Athletes representing their respective clusters will vie for dominance in various sporting events to earn a chance to represent the schools division on the forthcoming Region 1 Athletic Association (R1AA) Meet.