Poor Facilities, Lack Of Sponsorships Affect Swimmers – Athlete

Inadequate facilities and
lack of sponsorships were responsible for the country’s swimmers’ poor outing at international championships, a swimmer, Samson Opuakpo, said yesterday in Lagos.
Opuakpo, one of the Nigeria’s representatives to the forthcoming African Swimming Senior Championships in South Africa, made the assertion in an Interview with newsmen.
He said that swimming was one of the least sponsored sports in Nigeria, adding that it needed a lot of investments to enhance good showing at major events.
“I think we don’t have enough championships in Nigeria. The annual Chief of Naval Staff (CNS) Swimming Championships is not enough at all. We should have more championships, probably a league.
“Swimming is not a sport that you have just a tournament in a year and go to sleep; it needs regular training and fitness schedules to keep the body adapted to its rigors.
“Swimming as an aquatic sport needs more support from the government and corporate organisations and I’m sure that it will yield good results if sponsors invest in it.
“Swimming is an interesting sport people like to watch, so, I think this should attract sponsors; but as interesting as swimming is, we
only have one competition throughout the year,’’ he said.
Opuakpo, Captain of Delta State Team that won the September CNS Swimming Championships at Teslim Balogun Stadium, Lagos, said that his love for swimming had kept him in the sport.
“I love swimming and I am ready to give my all to it. It is not easy spending so much on training without enough competitions; it may be discouraging.
“Even if you are confident about yourself at training, how do you assess yourself with others if there are no competitions to determine how good you are?
“We need more competitions both at the federal and state levels for our fitness and many people will come to watch because they love the game.
“Swimmers in Nigeria need more encouragement, especially when it comes to international meets, we need to start doing well as a nation with abundant talents,’’ he said. Opuakpo called for the renovation of the swimming pools across the country, adding that it would attract more participants to the sport. “There are so many swimming pools in Nigeria but they are not functioning, most of them are in a state of disrepair. We need them to function to make us fit. “I know that maintaining a swimming pool is expensive but nevertheless, we should be able to manage those pools at a marginal price. “We should imbibe a good maintenance culture instead of building pools and allowing them to rot,’’ he said. Tidesports gathered that the African Swimming Senior Championships is scheduled for October 16- 23 in Blue Mountain, South Africa.