Ariane Kaye Parami saved her best for last. The 18-year-old standout from Davao City National High School capped her final appearance at the Palarong Pambansa with a gold medal and two silver medals in the secondary girls arnis competition, helping Davao Region strengthen its third overall campaign in the 2026 national games.
Parami ruled the individual double weapon anyo event to capture gold, then added silver medals in the individual espada y daga anyo category and the featherweight division of the labanan competition. For Parami, the medals carried special significance because they came during her last year of eligibility in the country's premier school sports competition.
"Competing in the finals was really intense but exciting at the same time because it was my last playing year, and I really wanted to win the gold medal," Parami said. "I felt a lot of pressure before the match, but once it started, I focused on everything I learned from training and gave my best."
A Journey That Began in Elementary School
The achievement marked another chapter in a Palaro career that began when she was still in elementary school. Parami first represented Davao City in the 2019 Palarong Pambansa, where she won gold in demonstration sparring in the pinweight category. She followed that performance in 2023 in Marikina City with a gold medal in team synchronized double weapon and a silver medal in sparring. In 2025, she captured gold in the featherweight sparring division and bronze in the individual solo weapon event in Laoag City before closing her Palaro journey with a gold and two silvers in Agusan del Sur.
Her path to becoming one of Davao City's top young arnisadors began unexpectedly at the age of eight. "My sister introduced me to her classmate who won a gold medal in arnis from Magallanes Elementary School," Parami recalled. "The name 'Arnis' sounded strange to me when I first heard it, and that sparked my curiosity." That curiosity led her to attend workshop training sessions in school, where she discovered a passion that would define much of her youth.
Family and Mentors Behind Her Success
The second of two siblings, Parami credited her family for supporting her journey. Her mother, Mirasol, is a housewife, while her father, Reynante, works abroad as a service worker. She also drew inspiration from her father, who competed as a swimmer during his teenage years. Beyond her family, Parami paid tribute to coach and mentor Adelfa Sagne, whom she considers her role model in the sport. "This is for Ma'am Ade for being the instrument in nurturing my anyo form," she said. "You did your utmost best, and God rewarded you for doing so."
Faith also remained at the center of her success. "Para ito kay Lord and for my family," Parami said. Now preparing for life beyond high school competition, Parami said she feels both happy and fulfilled after achieving one of her goals in her final Palaro appearance. She also revealed that any cash incentives she receives from her medal-winning performances will go toward funding her college education.
While her Palarong Pambansa journey has come to an end, Parami hopes to continue pursuing excellence in individual sports and one day achieve her ultimate dream of becoming a champion at the highest level. Her final performance in Agusan del Sur ensured she left the national stage the way every athlete hopes to — standing proudly on the podium, carrying the lessons of years of hard work, and inspiring the next generation of young arnisadors from Davao City.
