PUERTO PRINCESA CITY, Palawan — The reduction of the number of delegates to 12,000 in this year’s Batang Pinoy was due to the removal of the age groups that are 12 years old and under.

Batang Pinoy co-project lead Annie Ruiz cited that with this year having 30 sports, it would be best to limit this edition of the tournament to those in the age group from 12 years old to 17 years old.

The 2023 edition of the Batang Pinoy in Manila had 18,000 delegates in 25 sports.

This year will see the addition of soft tennis, kurash, obstacle course, jiu-jitsu, and breakdancing as the Batang Pinoy celebrates its 25th year.

“We limited the age group of the participants due to the number of sports the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) have for this year,” Ruiz said.

“We want to give quality competition for our delegates.”

PSC Executive Director Paolo Tatad said the removal of the younger age group will only be in effect for this year.

“We’ve taken out the younger age group, but only on a temporary basis,” Tatad said.

The opening ceremonies will be held on Saturday at the Ramon V. Mitra Sr. Sports Complex with the games taking place starting Sunday until Thursday.

A total of 177 local government units will not only be vying for glory and honor but also for the P5 million prize pot that will be given to the overall champion.