Ibile Games: A Giant Stride by Lagos State in Sports Development, By Millicent Ifeanyichukwu:
For more than four years now, the Lagos State Government organises annual Sports Festivals, tagged “Ibile Games’’ for its public secondary schools. The competition is used to select athletes to be groomed to represent the state at the biennial National Sports Festival.
But the just-concluded 2015 Games is miscellany of the government’s efforts at developing sports in the state and the athletes to stardom in line with the standards set at the national level for developing youths who are engaged in sports.
It is noteworthy that the 5th edition of the Games which began on Jan. 26 and ended on Feb. 6 was organised according to the trend of the National Sports Festival (NSF).
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that the National Sports Commission (NSC), organisers of the NSF had thrown the competition open to all athletes contrary to the former rules whereby international athletes and those who have participated in two editions of the Games are barred.
The development now leaves the amateurs to compete with professional athletes.
In line with that, the Lagos State Government also threw open its Ibile Games for all athletes in public and private secondary schools in the state, a development many said would enhance the discovery and grooming of athletes.
Sports fans have also said it will take Lagos to the number one spot in national competitions.
The success recorded by the Games can easily be seen from its products that have represented the country at major international Games.
The most recent is 17-year-old Shola Olowokere who featured for Nigeria in the 63kg category in the Taekwondo event of the 2014 Glassgow Commonwealth Games in Scotland, and won gold medal. He finished from Eskle Senior Grammar School, Ilupeju.
Although the success of the Games has also relied heavily on sponsorships by corporate organisations, including UAC Foods and Cadbury Plc which spiced up the festival, the traditional sports, including Ayo, Abula, Kokawa, Dambe and Langa were sorely missed unlike in the previous editions.
Apparently, their non-inclusion is due to the fracas that usually results from the competitions because the rules have not been standardised.
Interestingly, weightlifting, one of the 19 sports that featured attracted the attention of many fans not just because it is one of the areas where the country has comparative advantage in international competitions but because of the number of new entrants into it.
The sports at the Games are taekwondo, cricket, tennis, boxing, wrestling, table tennis, volleyball, basketball, squash, badminton, swimming, chess, hockey, handball, gymnastics, weightlifting, karate, judo and athletics.
The Games held at the National Stadium, Teslim Balogun Stadium, Mobolaji Sports Centre, Rowe Park, Jubril Martins High school, Ipori, Cricket Oval, TBS and the University of Lagos (UNILAG) Sports Center.
New talents were discovered in these sports according to individual performances during the competitions which was the objective for organising them.
In weightlifting, 76 athletes from 37 schools competed in eight weight categories, with the boys and girls taking part in four events in each weight category and finally 31 athletes were identified.
Meanwhile Ajao Segun, 14, from Lagos City College excelled and got the award for the best boy and Didih Onome, 17, from Wesley Girls High, School won the best girl award in weightlifting.
Segun won the boys’ 62kg, while Onome clinched the 48kg title for girls.
Elijah Durosimi, the Technical Director, Lagos State Weightlifting Association, told NAN that the Games turned out a huge success due to the fact that the turnout of participants made it more competitive.
Durosimi said that making the Games open is worth it, adding that young weightlifters from schools had an enabling environment to exhibit their talents and favourably compete among their peers.
He said the forum offered opportunity for the technical officials to identify some weightlifters that not only won but exhibited outstanding abilities.
“This year’s Ibile Games are unique; the presence of private schools stirred up the public schools’ athletes who have been alone in the race before now.
“The idea of making this edition open is really good because it made the festival more competitive and painstaking for us to even pick exceptional talents among them,’’ he said.
Modesta Onourah, 16, from Grace Academy, Orile, told NAN that her purpose of being at the Games was not to win a medal but to watch and acquire techniques that can improve her skill.
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Onourah commended the state government for organising the Games which, according to her, is also a forum for socialising and interacting with their likes in other schools.
“I am going home equipped. The experience alone is worth any medal which is my priority.
“Besides, I had fun and made new friends. In short I’m happy with the Lagos State Government,’’ she said.
Segun, who claimed the 62kg gold medal, expressed delight, adding that the medal was a stepping stone to a greater height in his career.
He attributed his success to hard work, encouragement from his coach, fair officiating and competing favourably with lifters within his category.
“The whole competition went well, no intimidation.’’
AyodeleOgundeyi, 14, from Longford International School, Lagos, who won silver medal in the 66kg, told NAN that he would be happier to engage in more competitions so as to win more medals.
Ogundeyi recommended that the Games should be done at weekends to enable more spectators, especially parents to attend.
“I want our parents to see us competing, it will encourage us the more,’’ he said.
The Lagos State Weightlifting Association Coach, Tina Omogbai, says the body will send a report to the government to appeal to the schools of newly identified weightlifters to release them for follow-up training.
Omogbai notes that the purpose is to thoroughly monitor their development through comprehensive training programmes to be held at weekends and schools’ vacation.
“We have proposals for follow-up programmes to enhance their potential but that will be with the consent and approval of the state government and their schools’ authorities,’’ she said.
She boasts that the training will go a long way to prepare them for future events such as Ibille Games, Development Agenda for Western Nigeria (DAWN) Games, National School Sports and National Sports Festivals.
“They have proved their worth and we must groom them because they have the potential to go beyond the Ibile Games and even represent the state and win gold medals.’’ (NANFEATURES)