No fewer than 7,000 pupils and students from various states of the federation are expected to participate in the 5th edition of National School Sports Festival scheduled for Port Harcourt from January 24- February 3, 2013.

Secretary of the Media/Publicity Sub-Committee, Olalekan Ige disclosed this in Port Harcourt Wednesday while speaking on the readiness of the state to host the festival.

He disclosed that participating athletes would be a combination of primary and secondary school students.

According to him, the Local Organising Committee (LOC) had concluded arrangements to ensure a successful hosting with the short listing accommodation and facilities for the games.

He listed venues for the games to include Adokie Amiesimaka Stadium, Alfred Diete-Spiff Civic Centre, Liberation Stadium and Port Harcourt Golf Club, while the University of Port Harcourt is scheduled to be used for accommodation.

“We are ready in terms of facilities, in terms of feeding, of course, that will not be a problem.

“We already have the experience .We hosted athletes during the national sports festival, which held in Port Harcourt. So, we already have the experience of how to be able to handle the feeding.

“And of course, because they are children from primary schools and students from junior and senior secondary schools, they require a special type of care. Some of them may be actually leaving their state for the first time since they were born, so they will be coming to a state they have never been before.

“So, we expect that we will have some kind of new experience in terms of being able to handle children , but then, we are of course going to get keepers who will stay with these children, who will be able to talk to these children,’’ he stressed.

Among the sports for the festival include athletics, handball, swimming, volleyball, football, badminton, wrestling, table tennis, hockey, boxing, chess, judo, taekwando, tennis, scrabble weightlifting, cricket, golf, dart and rugby would be demonstration sport.