Femi Atolagbe
Akoko Zone has emerged as the overall winner of the 2022/23 Basic Education School Sports Competition (BESS) held at Saint Thomas Aquinas College, Akure.
Ondo Zone came second in the two-day competition, organised by the Ondo State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) in collaboration with the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC). Okitipupa, Akure, and Owo zones finished in 3rd, 4th, and 5th positions, respectively.
The five sports zones of the state showcased their budding skills in Scrabble, Chess, Ayo Olopon, Table Tennis, and Track and Field, with Akoko Zone coasting home with the coveted trophy.
The chairman of the Ondo State Universal Basic Education Board, Mr. Victor Olabimtan, in a chat with newsmen, said the main objective of the competition was to harness the potential of the children, develop their skills at a tender age for self-sustenance, and serve as a bedrock for national sports development.
Olabimtan disclosed that UBEC and SUBEB, recognising the importance of school sports and the existing gap, complied with the National Council on Education (NCE) directives by setting aside funds for sports development in schools, aiming to promote sports at the basic education level.
He added that the early introduction of sports into the lives of pupils would help develop their cognitive, affective, and psychomotor skills, with a view to sharpening their intellectual minds and fostering unity among them.
According to him, “Basic Education School Sports (BESS) is the foundational programme developed to harness the sports potential embedded in learners, and it further reinvigorates the practice of sports in basic education schools.”
“If we are able to catch them young, it will provide the pupils with all-round and robust development, promote the maxim of a sound mind in a sound body, reduce restiveness and indiscipline, and inculcate the intrinsic values of sportsmanship, teamwork, and fair play.”
The Executive Secretary of the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), Dr. Hamid Bobboye, represented by Jonathan Kuulah Mashi, commended Ondo State for assembling young athletes for the competition, saying that a lot of talent had been discovered through Basic Education School Sports.
Bobboye praised the Chairman of Ondo State SUBEB for attending the event in person despite his tight schedule.
In his welcome address, the Permanent Secretary of the Ondo State Universal Basic Education Board, Chief Bamidele Akinnagbe, stated that the state’s contingent were the overall winners of the South West zonal competition held in Ado-Ekiti earlier this year.
The SUBEB Sports Desk Officer, Mrs. Folake Olagundoye, said the outstanding athletes among the pupils would be nurtured to become future stars for the state, the nation, and the world at large.
She added, “this competition will also be used as preparation for Ondo State’s participation in the national competition scheduled for November in Abuja.”