Hundreds of students from six Lagos schools thrilled parents and guardians at the kickoff of the Season Four of the annual Dolphin Swimming League at the weekend in Lagos.
The participants drawn from Green Springs School, Grange School, Lagos Preparatory and Secondary School, Children International School, Riverbank School and, St. Saviour’s School were cheered to victory by their parents and guardians while the presence of the Nigeria Aquatics Federation and the Nigeria Olympic Committee (NOC) added glamour to the one-day swimming fiesta hosted by Grange School in Ikeja.
Titles were won in 60 events among the elementary and secondary students with Chukwudi Kanu being the star attraction of the tournament.
From the Technical Director of Nigeria Aquatics Federation, Samuel Jesimiel, the performance of the students has been impressive; especially the time posted by some of the students was encouraging for the federation.
Jesimiel who is also the technical coordinator of the tournament admitted that the return of the league would surely help to unearth talents for the country.
Kanu, who represented Nigeria at the World Junior Championships earlier this year in Peru showed class as he dominated most of his events while also spearheading the dominance of Grange in the mixed relay events.
Taira Tijani, a parent, believes the students need support to showcase their talents in sports apart from their academics, adding that this would help broaden their knowledge and afford them total education beyond the four walls of the class.
The Youth Project Officer of NOC, Kemi Obidahunsi, the organisers should be commended for the initiative while pledging the support of NOC to help the tournament to grow as well as expose the students to international tournaments.
For the coordinator of the tournament Oluseyi Oyebode, there are plans to partner with the Nigeria School Sports Federation (NSSF) and NOC to expose the students to international tournaments.
“We are working hard to partner with NSSF and NOC to ensure that this is a journey to stardom for these students because we want to expose them to world-class competition where they can have the opportunity to represent Nigeria and pick tickets to the Olympic Games. We want to follow this through and ensure that this tournament provides a platform for talents to be identified and nurtured to stardom,” Oyebode said.