After four years of hiatus, university-wide sportsmanship and comradeship made a comeback on the battleground as the Salingkusog 2023 officially commenced with an opening ceremony yesterday, September 19 at the Visayas State University (VSU) Upper Campus Oval.
From being last year's theme, Salingkusog is brought back as a branding of this year’s intramural games. In light of this, the Institute of Human Kinetics aims to highlight "the transference and cultivation of strength, discipline, camaraderie, and sportsmanship across all competitions in the intramural games."
This year's Salingkusog emphasizes the return of the university-wide Intramural Games participated by college coalitions from the VSU Main Campus and the VITA component campuses from Villaba, Isabel Tolosa, and Alangalang, which was previously held every two years prior to the pandemic.
Vying for the throne are the factions from the different colleges composing Regal Minokawa (CoED x CVM), Growling Guardians (CAFS x CoN), Valiant Gladiators (CET x CAS), Sylvan Dragons (CFES x CME), and the four factions from the component campuses namely Griffins (Villaba Campus), Cyber Warriors (Isabel Campus), Greyhounds (Tolosa Campus), and the Blue Phoenix (Alangalang Campus).
Moreover, Dr. Edgardo Tulin addressed the students, athletes, faculty, and staff during the program to emphasize the importance of sporting events like this to a Viscan in transcending sports, not just in academics.
"So to everyone we reiterate that the goal of VSU is to maintain our culture of excellence, and that doesn’t mean only in the academics but also our excellence in sports, to excel in sports and whatever talents you have that we will discover in the next three days. As we will be hosting the SCUAA 8 this October, this is a prelude to that activity. I expect a more exciting competition that we will have now so that we can identify our talents from our part of our campus," Dr. Tulin said in his opening speech.
Also present at the event was 32nd Southeast Asian Games (SEA) gold medalist Trixie Mary Lofranco who graced the event as the Guest of Honor.
To wrap up the ceremony, select freshmen and sophomores performed the traditional field demonstration under a flashy fireworks display.
Salinkusog 2023 will run starting today, September 19 to September 22 as different teams will be competing in different sporting events and literary musical contests. The Growling Guardians (CAFS x CoN) is set to defend its championship title against the various factions as they were hailed overall champ last year.