By Emmanuel Ndukuba
Awka, June 3, 2024 – As the Anambra Sports Soludo Initiative (ANSSI) for Primary and Secondary School enters the state finals stage, Patrick-Estate Onyedum, Chairman of the State Sports Development Commission has urged school principals and headteachers to ensure their athletes fell within the stipulated age brackets.
Onyedum who congratulated the schools that made the state final stage of the festival in their various events tasked them to compete fairly and strive to be the best.
ANSSI 2024 is featuring 12 sporting events. Athletics, Basketball, Chess, Football, Scrabble and Swimming.
Others are Table tennis, Tennis, Taekwondo, Volleyball, Cricket and Ncho and would be competed for in U-12, U-14 and U-18 categories.
He warned that schools which presented overaged students will be sanctioned as age cheat was against the principles of developmental programmes of Prof. Chukwuma Soludo agenda for sports.
The Chairman recalled that Anambra was leading the campaign against cheating in age group competition at the national level as MD would not condone any form of compromise by any school administrator or coach.
He frowned at the few cases reported during the preliminary stage of the competition while appreciating officials of the Commission for handing down the appropriate sanctions to the erring schools.
“Mr Governor, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo administration is carrying out a development programme aimed at discovering and nurturing raw talents at the grassroots stage, there is no room for quick win by anybody.
“Our position against cheating remains sacrosanct, as we advance to the State Finals, schools identified as having deliberately indulged in sabotaging the programme may face reprimand including suspension from taking part in subsequent editions of ANSSI.
“I want to congratulate the finalists, I am hopeful that more champions will be discovered this year, Anambra will surely return to number one position.
“I appreciate Mr Governor for all his support which has made all this possible,” he said
The state finals of the ANSSI festival will begin on Tuesday June 4 through June 7.
