Go Round/SWAN Athletics: MOC Assures On Facilities, Readiness

A cyclist in action during a recent competition in Port Harcourt

With six days to go be
fore the Mascot Unveiling Ceremony of the forthcoming Go-Round/SWAN Secondary School Athletics Championships next Tuesday, the Main Organizing Committee (M.O.C) of the Competition has assured sports enthusiasts in the state that facilities to be used for the main event from the 31st of this month would be fully ready.
Chairman of the M.O.C, Honour Sirawoo gave the assurance in a chat with our correspondent after leading a team of technical officials of the committee on an inspection tour of facilities at the Adokiye Amiesimaka Stadium where the Championships will be staged.
Sirawoo gave a frank assessment of the current state of the facilities and assured that with help from the Rivers State Ministry of Sports, they are good to go.
“Well, we need to put some touches to what we saw on ground. They’re not in too good a state but thank God we have assurances from the Commissioner for Sport (Hon. Boma Iyaye) that he is going to do whatever is possible to make sure that the competition is successful. So we are convinced that with the input from the government to put the facilities in good shape, we will have a successful competition.” said Sirawoo
Sirawoo, who is  also the National Vice President South-South of the Sports Writers Association of Nigeria (SWAN) however moved to quickly allay any fears by emphasizing that “just minor things” need to be put in place.
“Just minor things, very very minor things,” he emphasized. “(They are) not too consequential although we have put in place a Plan B in case that does not work but if we are able to put it (the Plan A), it will also add more colour to what we are doing.” he added.
Some of the facilities inspected include the tracks, technical control room, changing rooms and other outdoor facilities at the arena.
While the Championships is expected to start at the end of  this month, the Mascot Unveiling Ceremony, scheduled for Tuesday at the Ernest Ikoli Press Centre is expected to spark a flurry of activities ahead of the Athletics championships.