Over 23,000 athletes, coaches set for Batang Pinoy 2025 in GenSan

More than 23,000 athletes and coaches are expected to participate in the Batang Pinoy 2025 National Championships in General Santos City on Oct. 25-31, making it the largest edition of the youth multi-sport meet since its debut in 1999.

Organizers said 19,075 athletes aged 17 and under and 4,397 coaches from 101 local government units will compete across 27 sports.

The Philippine Sports Commission (PSC), led by chairman Patrick “Pato” Gregorio, announced the milestone during Thursday’s launch at the Century Park Hotel in Manila.

The event also featured the unveiling of official mascots Oyo and Aya, redesigned medals and trophies, and new sponsorship partners.

Highlights include trophies with Lawaan wood bases taken from the historic Rizal Memorial Baseball Stadium and P15 million in incentives for the top five overall local government units.

The champion LGU will earn P5 million, while the next four finishers will receive P4 million, P3 million, P2 million and P1 million, respectively. The most bemedaled male and female athletes will also receive individual trophies.

Gregorio underscored Batang Pinoy’s role in grassroots development, saying the program has become essential in identifying and preparing the country’s future national athletes.

Competitions will include archery, arnis, athletics, badminton, 3×3 basketball, boxing, chess, futsal, gymnastics, martial arts, swimming, volleyball, weightlifting, wrestling and others.