Trial to select Rivers State athletes for the Niger Delta Games will conclude on Saturday, 7 February, with the football contingent rounding off the exercise.
The state trials began on Monday, 2 February, with competitions in chess, table tennis, tennis and scrabble, while handball and wrestling trials were held on Tuesday.
Events on Wednesday included volleyball and taekwondo, while swimming and powerlifting trialstook place on Thursday and basketball, boxing and weightlifting took place on Friday.
The trials are aimed at selecting athletes who will represent Team Rivers in all 16 sports approved for the Niger Delta Games.
Members of the State Liaison Committee said they were encouraged by the performances of athletes, expressing optimism about Rivers State’s prospects at the regional festival.
The Rivers State Director of Sports, Mrs Ibia Inyengiyikabo, confirmed that athletes from the state are prepared for the Games.
Speaking after the athletics trials in Port Harcourt, she said, ‘We have seen athletes who can do even better in the future, and with consistent training, we are optimistic about winning medals’.
Meanwhile, more than 120 swimmers participated in the screening programme on Thursday in Ondo State ahead of the second edition of the Niger Delta Games.
The trials, which were held in Ese-Odo Local Government Area of the state, paved the way for the selection of outstanding athletes to represent the state at the forthcoming games.
The Chairman of the State Liaison Committee and Commissioner for Youth and Sports Development, Segun Omoyofunmi who addressed reporters, commended the selection process, describing it as transparent and credible.
‘I am very confident that Ondo State will perform creditably at the games. With the transparent screening and selection process, the best athletes have been chosen to fly the flag of the state’, Omoyofunmi said.
‘We must be strict with the screening if we are to achieve success at the competition. I assure the governor that we will represent the state well and ensure we win medals at this second edition of the Niger Delta Games’.
The Niger Delta Games finals will hold in Benin City, Edo State, from 20 to 27 February, with over 3,000 athletes and 500 officials expected to participate.
The Niger Delta Games is organised by Dunamis-Icon for the nine states of the Niger Delta Development Commission.
