A total of 18 regions will be competing in the 60th edition of DepEd's annual multi-sporting event.
In this year’s Palaro, the theme is "2017 Palarong Pambansa: Converges Youth Power, Builds Sustainable Future".
The opening of Palarong Pambasa 2017 is on April 23. A total of 21 sports events will be played from April 24-29 in different venues.
The regular sports events include Archery, Arnis, Athletics, Badminton, Baseball, Basketball, Boxing, Chess, Football, Futsal, Gymnastics, Softball, Sepak Takraw (Boys), Swimming, Table Tennis, Taekwondo, Lawn Tennis and Volleyball.
Billiards, Futsal, Sepak takraw (Girls), Wrestling and Wushu will be played as a regular sports discipline for the first time.
Aerobic Gymnastics, Dancesport, and Pencak Silat are the three (3) demonstration sports for this year's Palarong Pambansa.
In 2016 Palarong Pambansa, the student-athletes from 18 athletic associations played in Albay Province. National Capital Region Athletic Association (NCRAA) won the overall titles in both elementary and secondary divisions. NCR dominated the 2016 Palaro, winning 104 gold medals, 57 silvers, and 48 bronzes for a total of 209 medals.
Southern Tagalog Calabarzon Athletics Association (STCAA-Region IV-A ) along with host region Western Visayas Regional Athletics Association (WVRAA-Region VI) expected to provide strong challenge to NCR as they finished second and third, respectively, in the 2016 Palarong Pambansa medal tally.
The other athletic associations who will compete in different sporting events and discipline include Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (ARMMAA), Cordillera Administrative Region (CARAA), Region I or Ilocos Region (IRAA), Region II or Cagayan Valley (CAVRAA), Region III or Central Luzon (CLRAA), Region IV-B or Southern Tagalog - MIMAROPA (MRAA), Region V or Bicol Region (BRAA), Region VII Central Visayas (CVRAA), Region VIII or Eastern Visayas (EVRAA), Region IX or Zamboanga Peninsula (ZPRAA), Region X or Northern Mindanao (NMRAA), Region XI or Davao Region (DAVRAA), Region XII or SOCCSKSARGEN (SRAA), Region XIII or CARAGA, and Region XVIII or Negros Island Region (NIRAA).
