Edo
State, a household name in the beautiful game of Rugby development
in Nigeria will be breaking new grounds with the introduction of the
game into schools through the launch of International Rugby Board
grassroots program tagged “Get Into Rugby”
The
program will be launched on Thursday 06 November 2014 through a
Seminar & Clinic at the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium Media Center
from 9am -4pm for School’s sports teacher/master/mistress of over
25 Schools drawn from both government and private schools
respectively in Benin City.
According
to the coordinator of the program Mr. Ntiense Williams, the Head
Coach of Edo State Rugby Association, who also introduced the sport
into Edo State some 8 years ago, “We will like to get Edo State
fully integrated into the National & International Rugby scheme
of things with the introduction of the Schools Rugby program tagged
by the International Rugby Board as “Get Into Rugby” (GIR), and
what we will popularly refer to as “Catch Them Young Sports
Development Program. This program is a genuine way of inculcation the
ethos & rudiment of Rugby Football to our children at a very
early age which will greatly help them to grow in the system, and
become National & International players of repute to Edo State in
the nearest future.
Said
Williams who is also popularly know as “Mr. Rugby” in Nigeria,
“initially when I was brought to Edo state, it was solely for
producing a team, and winning the National Sports Festival which we
have done creditably well with a historic record of 4 gold medals out
of the available 6 gold medal, a feat which has not be broken to
date, but we believe that we need to bring the game to the
international standard which is why the introduction of the schools
game is very paramount”
Said
Ntiense who is the only International Rugby Board Educator for
Nigeria, “Get Into Rugby” (GIR) is an International Rugby Board
program aimed at promoting and popularizing the beautiful game of
Rugby around the world towards Rugby’s re-introduction into the
Olympic Games Rio 2016 as a medal winning event. Early this year, the
IRB in conjunction with the Nigeria Rugby Football Federation hosted
an Educator & Coaching Seminar for the “Get Into Rugby”
program in Lagos. At the end of the program, Edo State was one of the
8 State in the entire country selected for the Pilot Scheme of the
program.
This
program is very timely for us in Edo State, as we are now involved in
genuine sports development to be able to identify talents to replace
our aging ones who are fast wearing out. We will also be grooming up
genuine athletes for the Junior National Sports Festival & the
Schools Sports Festival respectively, which Rugby will soon feature
in and also preparing the grounds for the reintroduction of Rugby in
the Bi-annual National Sports Festival after Calabar 2014 games.
We will
like to call on well meaning Companies, Organizations, and
individuals to come on board to sponsor this program through the
donation of simple things like Rugby balls which is the basic
requirement to introduce the game into a community. We are looking at
attaching each school in the program to an interested individual
sponsor or donor, especially people that have affinity with the
school.
I am
really excited with this program and I am looking forward to it
kicking of with the launch Seminar & Clinic on Thursday at the
Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium. I am very grateful to the Nigeria
Association of Physical Health Education, Recreation, Sports &
Dance Oredo Chapter led by the Chairman Mr. Okunyawe A.V. &
Secretary Mr. Peter Okodu who have given the program a good platform
to spring off from.
The
Seminar & Clinic is expected to be declared open by the Edo State
Honourable Commissioner for Youth, Sports & Social Mobilization
Chris Okaeben.
Issued By
Ntiense
Williams
Coordinator
“Get
Into Rugby”
Edo State
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