Coach Demands Sports Festival Date

A para-powerlifting
coach with the Delta State Sports Council Ijeoma Iherobiem,   has emphasised on the need for the National Sports Commission (NSC) to declare a date for the 19th National Sports Festival.
Iherobiem told newsmen in Lagos that such information was necessary for athletes aspiring to take part at the biannual fiesta scheduled for Calabar this month.
“We need to be informed on what date the festival has been fixed by NSC, organisers of the tournament, because March has already ended and there is no information yet.
“The festival was earlier scheduled for December 2014 and later shifted to April this year but it is so amazing that up till this day, no date has been fixed,’’ she said.
Iherobiem said that the inability of the authorities to declare the dates has affected the turn-out of aspiring athletes to training activities in preparations for the festival.
According to her, the athletes are confused on whether the festival will hold in April or not, owing to the fact that the governorship  and the House of Assembly elections are expected this weekend.
“The truth is that we are not sure of this month; the concentration now is on the elections.
“The turn-out of athletes at training is not encouraging, but I believe that once the date is announced by the NSC, the reverse will be the case,’’ she added.
The coach, however, advised athletes aspiring to excel in various fields during the festival not to allow the uncertainty to slow down their pace.
Iherobiem noted that commitment to training would help athletes to be in tune with the trends in sports to enable them to be successful.