By Uzor Odigbo
No fewer than 38 Primary Schools have so far registered for the first Gombe State AthIetics Association (GAA) Primary Schools Championship planned for July 2023.
This was disclosed by Competition’s Technical Adviser Prince Simon Ayuba in a Statement released to the Press on Monday.
Ayuba said, over 38 primary schools alongside 1017 boys and girls have registered and would participate in the grassroots harvest of talents AthIetics Championship.
The technical Adviser also highlighted the number of genders taking part in the competition as follows, Boys 589 and Girls 428 in 11 events namely, 100/200 meters, 60 meters, long jump, relays, throws, etc.
Ayuba said as a talent hunt Competition, screening would be conducted before pupils could be allowed to run to ascertain their level of fitness and the sport they would be able to get involved in.
Meanwhile, the GAA has already started training Schools’ Games Masters and some technical officials for the Championship with a view to preparing them adequately to rightly guide selected talents during and after the competition.
The Sponsor of the grassroots Competition Hon. Ahmed Shuaibu Gara Gombe had maintained that it’s better to catch them young than indulge in poaching mature athletes from everywhere with ugly attendant baggage.
He noted that plans are already afoot to organize the biggest grassroots AthIetics event in Gombe as many committees have been working hard towards the success of the event.
Meanwhile, some of the Schools registered for the Primary Schools Athletics Championship in Gombe include, Muhammad inuwa yahya model primary school, Idi Nursery and primary school, Kamara primary school, Madaki primary school, Tudun Wadan Pantami.
Others are Jalo Waziri primary school, Gandu primary school, Buhari estate primary school, Central primary school, Herwagana primary school, Jauro Tudun Wada primary school, Jauro Gotel Primary School, Model primary school, Abubakar Umar Memorial, Liman primary school, and Mu’azu Primary School.