Rivers And National Dominance In Sports

The performance of the Rivers State contingent to the last two sports meets in the country, the RIVERS 2011 and EKO 2012 when they placed first and second respectively is highly commendable and should be sustained.

In fact, their achievements go a long way to justify the huge investment which the state government under Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi has made in the sports sector both in infrastructural and human development.

No doubt, such interest in sports development is in keeping with government’s belief that sporting activities are ways of gainfully engaging the youth of the country.

However, during the official reception of the state contingent over their performance at the 18

th National Sports Festival, tagged Eko 2012, the state governor, while appreciating the performance and achievements of the athletes, noted that the state would no longer be contented with runner-up position in subsequent competitions.

The governor who tasked the athletes and their handlers on the need to come tops at the forthcoming 19

th National Sports Festival scheduled for Calabar, Cross River State in 2014, challenged them to put in more effort to re-enact their performance at the Rivers 2011 competition where they clinched the first position, and come home to an unforgettable reception.

The state chief executive then directed the Sports Commissioner to list the requirements that would make the state athletes achieve this task in order to commence early preparation for the Calabar competition.

To further encourage and motivate the athletes and their coaches towards star performances in subsequent competitions, the governor showered them with generous cash awards of N500,000.00, N300,000.00 and N200,000.00 respectively for gold, silver and bronze medal winners and their coaches for their impressive performance at Eko 2012.

This unprecedented show of support for the athletes is quite commendable as it reaffirms the governor’s belief in sports development as a means of positive youth engagement and control; hence, the building of state-of-the art sports facilities in the state.

Besides, in view of the dynamic nature of the sports industry, there is need for regular training of our coaches to enable them take advantage of modern trends in the industry. In addition, their individual skills could be further sharpened if they are afforded the opportunity to participate in sporting competition, within and outside the country on regular basis.

However, while appreciating the performance of the Rivers athletes in their last two national outings, The Tide believes that certain issues must be taken into cognisance to ensure improvement in the performance of the state contingent in future sports meets.

True, the state government has done very well in terms of infrastructure for sporting development in the state, but more effort needs to be exerted to consolidate on the gains so far recorded by Rivers athletes in their last two outings.

For instance, the Commissioner for Sports should take steps to revive school sports competition among secondary schools in the state from where budding athletes could be identified early for enough training.

The coaches and the athletes should also take cognisance of the fact that the government expects them to justify its huge expenditure in the sporting sector in its hope to make the state the hub of sports development in the country through their performances at sporting events.

Granted that keeping the states flag flying at the top in the field of sports in the country is quite a tall order, but with more commitment and sacrifice on the part of all concerned, the task we believe is achievable in view of the tremendous support which the state government has promised the state athletics team and the coaches alike. That should be the ultimate target.