About 150 kids are expected to participate in the maiden edition of the Sunfit Under-13 & Under-16 National Squash tournament billed to hold from 11th to 14th April, 2018 at the Sunfit Fitness and Spar in Amuwo Odofin Estate, FESTAC in Lagos State.
Sportinglife.ng reports that the tournament, which is being put together by former Nigeria international squash players (Ex-Squash Professionals) and sponsored by Sunfit Fitness and Spar, will see 28 states and the Federal Capital Territory taking part.
Tournament Director, Wilson Egberipou said the tournament which is on the 2018 programme calendar of the Nigeria Squash Federation (NSF), is one of the events lined up towards reviving the sport by the Ex-Squash Pro.
“We are challenged by every tournament and we hope to put these players in top form. Like you know, it is an age grade tournament and we specifically chose this period when we know these kids will be on holiday and they will give their full time to it. That is why we have series of tournaments lined up to prepare the players for better days.
“The ex-squash pro came in because the sport was already dead and we are starting from the scratch and I tell you we have invested so much to see that we build a solid foundation and by our projection, in a space of about 8 to 10 years, though it may come earlier, we are patience enough to wait that long so that we can start reaping our fruits.”
General Manager, Sunfit Fitness and Spar, Kelechi Ononiwu said the company will continue to promote wellness, fitness and sports in all aspect.
“We are solely sponsoring this tournament which means that 100 percent of funding is coming from Sunfit, which includes the accommodation, feeding, facilities we are using and so on. Partnering with the ex-Squash Pro helps us to organize our first national tournament. So we are hoping that through this tournament we can grow new players in squash, increase awareness of the game and hopefully get one or two national players who will go ahead to represent the country at international events.”
Chairman Ex-Squash Professionals, Durosinlorun Yusuf revealed that there will be prizes and gift items to winners in both categories.
“As at this morning we have about 23 states that have indicated their intension to participate in this tournament and we are expecting about 150 players. For now we have sports equipment such as squash rackets, squash bags, ball, and all equipments that can make the players to improve their standard of the game and make sure that they don’t lack for their training.
One of the officials, Oluwaseun Peter said everything has been put in place to ensure a hitch-free competition.
The preparation is nearly perfect. We are going to make sure that there are no cheats and no falsification of age. This competition is to discover young talents in the country, so we are going to put in our best to make sure that everything goes on well.”