Ugbe
Diana Okon-Effiong, Calabar
No fewer than 16, 000 athletes and officials are being expected at the 19th National Sports Festival billed for Calabar in November 2014, our Regional Correspondent reports.
This was disclosed by Mr Patrick Ugbe, the Commissioner for Youths and Sports Development, in an interaction with sports journalists Tuesday in Calabar.
“If you judge by the last event in Lagos and the fact that it is an open event, we are expecting about 16,000 athletes and officials in Calabar. We have the facilities on ground.
“It is expected that as the host we are expected to have large contingent if not the largest contingent.
“We cannot say the exactly the number of our contingent for now but the large number of athletes would be accommodated in designated games village and these are in campuses of institutions as it is always done,’’ he said.
On the facilities for the festival tagged ‘Centenary Games, Calabar 2014’, Ugbe said the state was on course.
“We are on course with all our facilities. As you know, the athletics tracks have been delivered already and we successfully had the national trials in the CRS/AFN which ended two some weeks ego.
“Other venues are progressing and are at different level of completion and we are sure by September most of them will be delivered and I am sure the last one will be delivered by early October.
“The facilities that we are putting in place are about the best in the country and that in itself has already elevated the quality of the event and then the quality of the organisation.
“One key thing is the fact that, as I said, we will not going to manipulate, we are going to give to this country an event that everyone will leave happy’’.
He said most of the athletes for the CRS/AFN championship were very happy with the tracks at the U.J. Esuene Stadium.
“We have very fast tracks here and this tracks that we are hoping to get the IAAF to come and certify it.
“This the normal procedure and after that certification, we should have perhaps the only class one track in the country because it is built for that.
“Normally when you build a new track it is not that fast until after about three months or more of usage but this was a track that produced faster times from its inception.
“So it gives you an idea of the track we have laid. There are just few things we need to put in place like the `in ground equipment’ that have arrived now and that will make it an excellent track.
“We are also working in the development of our athletes for this competition. You may not see them now because the facilities are being worked on but we have them training at different locations.
“So we are very mindful of the fact that we are the host and it is expected that we will do well even if we do not win it.
“Bust like his Excellency, Gov. Liyel Imoke has said, our emphasis is not on wining at all cost.
“We will give Nigeria what will be a very credible event where we hope that officiating will be fair and who so ever wins will win fair and square without cheating.
“It is expected that as the host state, the host state will always try to influence the outcome of different events but we do not have that,’’ Ugbe said.
The festival and the World Mountain Race would coming up in same month and the Commissioner also gave assurances that both events would run smoothly.
He said: “We are preparing for the mountain race. Mountain race is first week of November while the festival happens late November.
“We have started preparing for the 10th edition of the Obudu Mountain Race which makes it very significant that we have gone on for 10 unbroken years. We believe it will continue to grow from strength to strength”.
Ugbe said the festival would “perhaps be the cheapest sports festival in the country and we will deliver the most cost effective festival in line with the mandate the governor gave us’’.
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