Participants count gains of SPAR SprintStar championship for students

Parents and coaches, who took part in the just concluded Spar SprintStar Championship, have eulogised the hypermarket chain for organising a competition that gave holidaying students the opportunity to hone their skills.

Students drawn from across Lagos gathered at the Dr. Philip Adegbite Sports Complex of the Yaba College of Technology at the weekend to vie for honours in the track and field championship, which drew thousands of spectators to the venue.

The students vied for honours in 50 meters, 75 meters, 100 meters and 200 meters race for boys and girls ranging from ages 6 to 15.

There were over 2,000 young athletes and participants drawn from 100 schools located across Lagos State.

One of the officials of the competition, a certified athletics coach, Ikheobomeh Isaac Osagie urged SPAR to sustain the initiative for the development of athletics in Nigeria and also encouraged the schools to engage National Institute of Sports (NIS) certified coaches to train their students on the technicalities of the game.

While expressing his appreciation to SPAR Nigeria for sponsoring this laudable initiative, Mr Adesina Ahmmed, one of the parents of the participants said, “I am delighted to be a part of this track and field competition. It is a fun-filled event for me because I can see my child participating in an extra-curricular activity. This is one of the approaches that we need in Nigeria to catch and nurture talents from their youthful age.”

Spar, which has been operating in Nigeria in the last 30 years, said it decided to organise the competition to help Nigeria discover young talents in track and field events.

According to the Marketing Head, SPAR Nigeria, John Goldsmith said as a brand, it has identified the need to positively engage and develop pupils and students in extra-curricular activities during this long vacation.

“SPAR Nigeria is delighted to collaborate with Leverage Sports to rightly channel the energies of Nigerian children and youths in sports development. As a brand, we are glad to support sporting activities because it aids mental and physical health,” he said.

In his speech at the opening of the SprintStar, Programme Director, Leverage Sports, Moses Ozoumeh said the event is meant to inspire and develop raw talents in children to become citizens that will bring honour to the country at large.