Mr Patrick Ukah, President, Nigerian Hockey Federation, has said that the organisation and standard of the 17th National Sports Festival has raised the bar for others to follow.

Ukah said that the festival, tagged “The Garden City Games”  was the first to receive the value and status of a national sports festival.

The hockey federation president, who is a marketing consultant to the games, said the games had increased the branding of products and services.

“The Garden City Games 2011 has raised the bar. I know it could be better but, they have raised the bar.

‘They have increased massively the value of the national sports festival. I think this is the first attempt of the festival being given the status it should have in Nigeria.

“It has been increased greatly, as a big brand. What Rivers games have brought out is that we now have a big brand in national sports in Nigeria.

“If you look at the opening ceremony, that can only be likened to all African games, Olympics and Commonwealth games.

“I want to believe, and it is my prayer that anybody that hosts this games again, must be able to maintain and we must not drop from that standard.

“It is the truth of the matter and I know it is possible,” he said.

Ukah said  that the National Sports Festival was a product and that the Garden City Games were an attempt to raise it to a brand level.
He said that time was now ripe for corporate bodies and organisations to support it through sponsorship.

“One other good thing that has happened to this game is the introduction of trophies . That also has increased the value of the games .
“You take for example, Mr President has put in N20 million, N15 million and N10 million.

“I want to believe that what states should be targeting now is not just the medal, which is personal to the athletes, but the state that is winning.

“If you have a N500 million prize money on the trophy for the person that wins, most states’ sports councils will now know the essence of pumping money.

“This will make states come to the festival to participate to make money and win trophies,” he said.

Oyinlola urges support for golf

Former governor of Osun, Chief Olagunsoye Oyinlola has urged the three tiers of government in the country to provide the necessary support for golf to thrive at the grass roots.
Oyinlola said in Port Harcourt that the ongoing 17th National Sports Festival had shown that all the sport needed was support for it to grow.

Oyinlola, the current President, Golf Federation 0f Nigeria (GFN), also said that he was impressed by the performance of the golfers at the festival.  The GFN president, who spoke at the Port Harcourt Club Golf Course, said the game was not an elitist sport.

‘You will agree with me that the people you saw on the medals dais were not the elite but budding talents from the grass roots who love the game.

“What we now need is a concerted effort from the three tiers of government to provide support by way of infrastructure for the game to thrive at the grass roots.

“I can assure you that with adequate support from government, the sport will grow to unimaginable heights,” Oyinlola said.

Golfers  grateful for less rainfall

The Golf Federation of Nigeria (GFN) says it is pleased that its competition at the current 17th National Sports Festival in Port Harcourt was not disrupted by rain.

The secretary of the federation, Bola Adedeji, said this on Wednesday at the close of competition at the Port Harcourt Club Golf Course.
He said that the federation and golfers from the 28 states that took part in the event were all happy with the way the competition ended.

Adedeji said that the threat of rain did not in anyway dampen the enthusiasm of golfers who played with vigour.

The secretary praised the skills displayed by the golfers on parade at the festival which, he described, as impressive for an amateur tournament.

“The golfers from the 28 participating states gave each other no quarter as they battled for the medals at stake.
“We now have a wide array of golf talents to pick from for future international competitions such as the forthcoming World Amateur Team Championships in Turkey in 2012.

“Thankfully, the threat of rain that was always looming on the horizon did not disrupt our event all through the period it lasted,” he said.

Adedeji told NAN that a Senior Amateur Championship is billed for Scotland next year and that newly discovered talents from the festival would form the bulk of the team for these competitions.