Mobil Sports: Students expected in camp Tuesday

THE countdown to the grand finale of the 14thAKS/NNPC/MPN Schools Athletics Championships begins Tuesday with the call to camp of the 500 students that have qualified for the finals.

  After exhaustive trials in the eight sports zones of the state, 500 students qualified for the finals scheduled for the Ultra Modern Akwa Ibom International Stadium in Uyo.

  Unlike the previous editions when the final was held at the beaten earth tracks of the Eket Stadium, the students are required this time around to run on tartan tracks, hence the need to camp and familiarize them with the modern equipment in the stadium.

  Renowned coaches, led by Professor Ogunjimi, have been recruited to put the students through. Former National team coach, Amelia Edet, Solomon Abari, Utitofon Nkanta, and Ofonbuk Okon will assist him.

  Current National team coach, Gabriel Okon, has been deployed by the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN) to oversee the three-day camping.

 With the camp site at Community Secondary Commercial School Ikot Okubo in Uyo, students are expected to hit camp at about 4.00 p.m. for accreditation and collection of camp materials, including spike shoes and canvasses, training and competition kits and toiletries, among others.

 Akwa Ibom State Director of Sports, Coach Aniedi Dickson, has reiterated the preparedness of the sports ministry to host the competition. 

  On Monday in Uyo, while thanking the NNPC/MPN Joint Venture for keeping faith with the championship for the past 13 years, he recollected the camping that was done in Calabar in 2013 and how the state benefitted immensely from the exercise by topping the athletics event at the National Youth Festival in Abuja.

  “We cannot thank MPN enough for this competition, which has become a prime fixture in our sports calendar. All the track and field coaches in the state have been deployed to participate and look out for potential stars that we will track and nurture,” he said.