By Chinedu Onuoha

Insight Talent Height Academy has won the maiden Lagos State Secondary Schools Ludo Championship, which featured schools from across the state, at the Indoor Sports Hall of the Teslim Balogun Stadium.
  
The championship with the theme “Empowering Tomorrow’s Leaders,” put together by TRS Sports Academy, in partnership with the Lagos State Sports Commission, saw the students also test themselves in the knowledge of the game of dice.
 
At the end of the Ludo tourney, Okunyemi Irenitemi, and Ogunade Timilehin of Insight Talent Heights Academy, Lagos Island, took the first and second positions, while Israel Osahor from Inter-Guide Academy, Ikeja came third.
 
Speaking at the end of the competition, Director of School Sports Directorate, Lagos State Sports Commission, Oluyomi Oluwasanmi, thanked the organisers for bringing Ludo back in an organised way, noting that the game is part of an effort at creating healthy competition for children, adding that the Lagos State government is always willing to develop all sports in the state.
 
She also commended the participating schools for their discipline throughout the championship and admonished them to be obedient and good ambassadors of their schools.
 
In his goodwill message to the students,  members, Board of Directors, TRS Sports Academy, Tunde Oloyede Sobowale, charged the students to always compete fairly and in friendship, urging both the winners and the losers to see the tournament as a competition where one person must emerge the champion.
 
He appealed for government and more corporate support for the initiative.
 
Earlier, General Manager of TRS Sports Academy,  Babatunde Amosun, explained that his organisation wanted to do something unique that would attract the interest of students.

He said that experience has shown over the years that other indoor games had attracted much attention, hence his organization looked for a sport that both parents and children can play together at home in a conducive environment.
 
Amosun noted that apart from the organisers planning to make the ludo tourney a yearly event, they are also looking at the possibility of a national competition that will bring together schools from various states of the federation.
 
For winning the championship, Irenitemi got a N1 million scholarship award, while Timilehin and Osahor got an N750,000 and N500,000 scholarship award respectively along with trophies, gift items, and certificates.
 
Other participants also got certificates and various gift items.