Games mistress calls for early, adequate publicity for Opeifa Cup
NAN-S-16
Publicity
By Millicent Ifeanyichukwu
Lagos, May 17, 2017 (NAN) Oladunnni Bello, Games Mistress, Molero Junior College, Oyewole, Agege, Lagos, on Wednesday called for adequate publicity ahead of subsequent editions of the Lagos State Secondary Schools Handball Championships.
Bello made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday in Lagos on the sideline of the ongoing 2017 edition of the annual championships.
She said that early and adequate publicity would provide enough time for interested schools to prepare their teams for a successful outing.
“This is a competition needed to promote handball in Lagos; therefore, awareness creation must be given priority attention for us to have a huge turnout of participants.
“We have hundreds of secondary schools in Lagos that are supposed to be part of this competition but are not here, while some came on a short notice as we did,’’ she said.
She attributed her team’s 1-0 loss to Mobolaji Bank Anthony School, Yaba, in the knockout stage, to the short notice, which, she said, denied the team enough time to prepare well.
“I am not happy that we are going home defeated because I know that, if we were informed two months ago, we would have made the top four.
“The girls won their first, second and third matches but lost in the knockout stage to a strong team, anyway, due to technical lapses,’’ Bello said.
According to the games mistress, the championships organisers should put up reminders to schools as the championships draws near so that they can tidy up preparations.
“The social media is there; they can do a reminder through the media, text messages and phone calls so that schools can register and get their teams and necessary logistics ready,’’ she said.
Bello urged the Lagos State Handball Association (LSHA) to issue certificate of participation to schools that featured in the championships, in spite of their performances as a proof of their attendance.
“There must be an official document for participating schools to present to their school managements. It will be on the school’s record,’’ she added.
NAN reports that eight teams comprising four males and four females in the junior and senior categories will battle for honours in the semi finals of the championship.
The championship tagged `Opeifa Cup’ Season 3, holding at the Mobolaji Johnson Sports Centre, Rowe Park, Yaba, began on May 15 and will end on May 19. (NAN)
MIL/COF/IGO
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(Edited by Oluyinka Fadare/Ijeoma Popoola)