The refurbished swimming pool of the National Stadium in Lagos will come alive again after over two decades of inactivity as Nigeria and 13 countries from the West and Central regions will compete at the African Zone Two Junior Swimming Championships.
According to the President, Nigeria Aquatics Federation, Babatunde Fatayi-Williams the three-day tournament is aimed at grooming top swimmers for the regions in readiness for major competitions across the globe.
Teams expected to compete at the tournament are expected in Nigeria on October 26 for the competition that will begin on October 27 to 29 at the National Stadium.
“This tournament is unique because the refurbished swimming pool of the National Stadium which has not been in use in over two decades will be put to use for the championships. The aim of this tournament is engender healthy competition in the region particularly for swimmer below 16-year-old. Also, we are going to screen all the participants to ensure that the right athletes compete. We intend to sue their birth certificate to ascertain their age and we are sure we will do a thorough at ensuring that the right athletes compete in the tournament,” he said.
For the tournament, the swimmers would compete in two categories of 13-14 years of age as well as 15-16 years of age.
Fatayi-Williams also assured that Nigerian swimmers would be made up of athletes that have distinguished themselves in various national competitions while a trial is ongoing to select the best swimmers for Nigeria.
However, he lauded the organisers of the maiden Dolphin Inter-School Swimming League while urging schools within Lagos State to identify with the tournament.
“I must commend the organisers of the Dolphin league for their efforts to take the sport to schools which is what we believe in and I am confidence that with tournaments like this, we can have more swimmers coming through for this country. We will surely support the tournament through the Lagos State Swimming Association particularly in the area of technical. We are also going to collaborate with the organisers that we have the data base of the swimmers to be able to keep table of them. We are hopeful that with more people coming on board to stage tournament like this, I am sure we can have more swimmers emerging from schools, which is what obtained globally,” he added.
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