Ondo State Government has emphasised the need to return to school sports where raw talents could be identified, nurtured and promoted.
The Commissioner for Youth and Sports Development, Mr Bamidele Ologunloluwa, stated this while declaring open a one-day workshop organised by his ministry for sports technocrats in the state.
The theme of the workshop is “The Role of School Sports in Nation Building”.
Ologunloluwa ,who described sports as a platform for character and leadership development ,said it was not just a means of winning laurels alone.
He added that sport is a veritable platform to positively engage youth at young age as he help to take them off social vices.
Mass Sports participation and sports excellence can easily be attained upon effective sports administration in schools,but this area has been neglected as consequence of poor and implementation of sports policy direction which culminated into sports apathy, delinquencies and consequently inhibiting the catch them young syndrome.
“Today, you have all been invited as technocrats to brainstorm and profer solutions in the way forward to promote sports in nation building and Ondo State specifically.
“The present government is committed to grassroots sports development , having invested much in this area of human endeavor,” he said.
Ologunloluwa said Ondo State Government would continue to prioritise the needs and improve on the welfare of the people through sporting activities,
In her welcome address,the Acting Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of, Mrs Foluke Tunde-Daramola, said a critical assessment of the sports had shown a huge decline in the grassroots sports development in schools.
Tunde-Daramola added that the purpose of the workshop was to train and re- train the sports teachers and technocrats in the state on the need to improve the standard of sporting activities with a view to sustaining good health and physical fitness.
The resource person, Professor Pat Oyeniyi of the Department of Human Kinetics and Health Education at Ekiti State University charged the participants to go back to their various local government to organise competitions.
Also, Dr. Rasheed Oloyede of the Department of Environmental and Sanitation, Federal University of Education,Ondo, urged the sports technocrats to ensure the money they generate to use to upgrade facilities in their schools.
They both conceded that sports is not only about competing,but teach moral and fundamental knowledge.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.