The Anambra School Sports Festival ended on a high note as Washington Memorial Grammar School Onitsha and Uncle Ralph the Great Academy claimed Gold in the football event.
Washington Memorial Grammar School saw off their opponent from Bubendorf Memorial Grammar School Adazi-Nnukwu by 4-2 on Penalty shootouts after a barren regulation time to claim the U-17 Male Football Gold. Uncle Ralph the Great Academy from Isuaniocha had earlier saw off their opponents in Eri Primary School from Aguleri by 3 goals to 1.
READ ALSO: 2,000 students reach Anambra school sports festival finals
The overall winner received gold medal with the sum of ₦1,500,000, the first runner-up got ₦800,000, while the third placed team got ₦500,000.
Speaking at the closing ceremony, Anambra State Governor, Professor Chukwuma Soludo, described the event as the beginning of a new dawn for sports development at the grassroots levels.
Soludo who was represented by the Deputy Governor, Dr Onyekachukwu Ibezim, urged Anambra residents to embrace sports due to their health and social benefits.
“This is a new dawn in sports development in Anambra after more than 10 years. Sports is a major pillar and Mr governor has said he will adopt a bottom up approach and that is what you are witnessing here. Sports has health benefits, economic benefits and social benefits. The government is also exploring more areas of benefits,” he added.
Also speaking, the Chairman, Anambra State Sports Development Commission, Patrick-Estate Onyedum, commended the governor for approving and funding the festival, which according to him, was an addition to the successes of the Commission within the nine months he took over.
He recalled that the festival started on May 17, 2023 with about 17,000 students from 610 primary and secondary schools which progressed through community, LGA and zonal elimination stages.
According to him, outstanding student athletes from the competition will go on to represent Anambra at the upcoming National Youth Games which will hold in September this year and National Sports Festival to be hosted by Ogun state next year.
A breakdown of the sporting events showed that Vision Secondary School, Nnewi (Nnewi North LGA) emerged the overall best performing school, followed by Ide Secondary School Enugwu-Ukwu (Njikoka LGA) and Rosamystica Girls Agulu (Anaocha LGA), while the overall best performing primary school was Central School Nimo, followed by Iyiora Primary School (Iyiora, Anambra West) and Iringwu Primary School, Nanka (Orumba North LGA).
In the Track and field events, Lucy Nwankwo of Rosa Mystica High School Agulu ran the best time to win gold in the finals of the 100 metres U-17 Girls while Chigozie Nwankwo also from Rosa Mystica High School Agulu settled for silver as the bronze medal went to Chinaecherem Okafor who represented Holy Queens Secondary School Aguluzigbo.
In the Male Category of the 100 metres finals, Edward Chibuike from Dominican Sisters College Abatete took Gold ahead of Akachukwu Onyejekwe of Holy Queens Secondary School Aguluzigbo and Chibuzor Akanisi of St. Michaels Comprehensive College Nimo who settled for silver and bronze medals respectively.
Vision High School Nnewi and Central School Nimo who emerged as overall best secondary and primary schools each got a whooping sum of N1.5 million; Ide Secondary School Enugwu-Ukwu and Iyiora Primary School Iyiora in Anambra East LGA both got N1 million each for emerging the 1st Runners up for the Secondary and Primary Schools respectively.
Rosa Mystica High School Agulu and Iringwu Primary School Nanka both settled for a consolation prize of N500,000 each for emerging third overall in both the Secondary and Primary schools category.
Most Valuable Players in the 10 sporting events of Athletics, Basketball, Chess, Football, Scrabble, Swimming, Tennis, Taekwondo, Volleyball and Cricket all got a sum of N20,000 each.
Three brand new bicycles were won by three lucky students in a raffle draw.
