Judo Masterclass: L-R – Sarah Clark, coach, Edinburgh Judo Club; Andrew Knott, CEO of Savannah Petroleum; Prince Timothy Nsirim, President, Nigeria Judo Federation (NJF); Billy Cusack, coach, Edinburgh Judo Club; and Nkoyo Etuk, Head of Stakeholder Relations and Communications, Savannah Petroleum, during the judo masterclass sponsored by Accugas Limited, a Savannah Petroleum company, in Uyo.

Judo is a popular sport in Akwa Ibom state, For two days, February 1 and 2, this was expressly demonstrated by the state Judo Association when it hosted the Accugas Judo Masterclass at the luxurious Ibom Hotel and Golf Resort in the state capital, Uyo, South-South Nigeria.

The event was made possible by Accugas, a subsidiary of Savannah Petroleum in association with Edinburgh Judo Club. Two world-class instructors, Billy Cusack, a 7th Dan and Sarah Clark, 6th Dan, both of Edinburgh Judo Club were flown in from Scotland for the programme. It was a highly technical training, where tactics and techniques were laid bare by the instructors and, the Judokas made a feast of it. Children, some toddlers, junior, intermediate and senior athletes took part.

Judo coaches too were not left out as they too were exposed to modern training methods techniques and tactics.

ALSO READ: Go watch Fury fight Wilder, Oboh tells Joshua

The enthusiasm, hunger, passion and dexterity exhibited by both the instructors and the Judokas in attendance underlined the long wait for an opportunity like this to express themselves the best way they could through a sport they love so much. For the children, it was great fun.

The high point of the programme was the active participation of Andrew Knott, the CEO of Savannah Petroleum who is a Judoka. Kitted like any other athlete, he was in the mix during training, demonstrations and all. He took on partners and carried out instructions like any other fighter. He looked ordinary on the mat.

He fell others and he too was thrown down on the mat by his partners. It was rather humbling to see a chief executive of a multi-national engage in such an engaging exercise for two days. Never seen before in our clime.

Knott said his organisation decided to identify with the Ekuta Judo Club in Uyo because it felt what the club was doing for Judo in the state made sense. “Akwa Ibom has a rich history in Judo. The state has an Olympian already in Catherine Ewa who runs a Judo club here that has been doing a lot for the sport in the state, a project we feel made a lot of sense. And we decided to bring everybody together, both the athletes and their coaches to learn new tricks and coaching techniques and see what we can make out of it.

ALSO READ: Atalanta end Fiorentina drought to consolidate fourth place

“You could see how happy the kids are. I have a very strong view that Judo brings a lot of people together and they would be taught about determination, hard work. I am happy that we can use part of our Corporate Social Responsibility to create more events like this because there is so much potential here and we though the achievements of the likes of Billy Cusack and Sarah Clark in Edinburgh can be replicated here. We are happy,” said the Savannah Petroleum boss.

Nkoyo Etuk, a director of Savannah Petroleum and head of Stake Holders Relations and Communications said the company was proud to float the initiative which will go a long way in helping the teeming youth who are engaged in the sport to actualise their dreams. “As a socially responsible corporate citizen, we try as much as possible to give back to the society in which we operate,” she said.

Billy Cusack told our reporter that he saw a lot of potential in the kids he saw in attendance. “As a coach, I see huge potential in these children because they are strong, athletic and as fast as any other children I have seen anywhere else in the world.”

His thoughts were corroborated by his coaching partner, Sarah Clark, “I feel exactly the same way; the way the children move, and what they can do and beyond that, their attitude, their readiness to learn and the smiles as well, is fantastic. It’s been a very very brilliant experience.”

Cusack re-echoed, “their discipline is tremendous. If you say line up, they line up, do this they do, so that they do. In our club, we are combating PlayStation, combating non-activity. So I see a lot of potential in these kids.”

The two-day programme was described as “momentous” by the chief coach of Akwa Ibom and technical director of the Nigeria Judo Federation. “This programme is meant for elite athletes. It is not only for Akwa Ibom because we selected from our ranking list, 4 to 6 elite athletes in each category to attend. It is a momentous programme that will have a lot of impact on all those that took part in it.”

“We the federation is very proud of what is going on in Akwa Ibom and we thank God for giving us this programme. but our gratitude goes to the sponsors of this programme, Accugas and their partners for putting this together.

If other multi-nationals could emulate what they are doing, there will be peace in our various communities and there will be peace in Nigeria.”

Vanguard News