Athletes Transportation: Participants Want Locals As Drivers

Some contingents at the ongoing 17th National Sports Festival (Garden City Games 2011) have called for the engagement of locals as drivers for easy  conveyance of athletes to their games venues in the city.

Baring their minds to Tide Sports on Saturday two contingents from Edo and Lagos States say most of their drivers lack knowledge of routes in Port Harcourt hence fail to convey them early to their games venues.

Mrs Mercy Osaige, a chess player from Edo State said if locals are engaged to convey the athletes it would go a long way in reducing the traffic jam they encounter from their camps to the games venue.

She disclosed that though their own drivers are getting used to the routes in Port Harcourt, most times they encounter traffic log jam and arrive late at competition because their drivers do not know alternative routes out of such log jams.

Mrs Osaige said alternatively logistics should me made to relocate some contingents whose games are within the city centre close to their game venues.

The same view was expressed by Chimbiam Ochonogor from Lagos State who told Tide Sports that often times athletes get exhausted along the road before getting to their competition.

Miss Ochonogor stated, “there was a particular day we spent more than four hours from the game village to the Civic Centre, my brother, it was so exhausting.”

In order to reduce the problem, she stated they usually wake very early and begin their journey sometime four hours ahead of their scheduled games so as to beat the traffic along Choba area.

She therefore urged the organisers to engage local drivers who are conversant with the roads to convey athletes, since they know the shortest routes to the different games venues, within and outside the city.