A Thriller Sporting Fiesta
The fourth biennial inter-house sports competition of Chelsea School in Lagos was fun packed and a day like no other. Peter Uzoho who covered the event, reports
The fourth biennial inter-house sports competition of Chelsea School also known as Kel-Chelsea School was held on Friday, February 9, 2018 with fun, glamour, intense contest for trophy and, with maximum spirit of sportsmanship. The school, a combination of nursery, primary and high school is reputed for its quality teaching and learning and ensuring mental, physical, psychological and moral development of a child.
Its inter-house sports festival which holds every two years is part of theschool’s extracurricular activities targeted at developing pupils andstudents physically, as well as discovering their talents and skillsin sports.
The theatre of games for this year’s edition was the First Bank of
Nigeria’s Sports Complex, situated in Satellite Town, Lagos, where some of the spectacular activities at Olympics were replicated.
As early as 7a.m, exciting young school children dazzling in Red,Yellow, Blue and Green sports wears, representing Ekwulugo, Francis,
Ogile and Yekwe respectively (the four house owners in the school),were brought into the venue in company of their parents, guardians and
caregivers. They had been engaged in series of practices and heatswhere each house selected the best athletes for the showdown. With
hardworking house masters and mistresses, each of the houses promisedto put up great fight to clinch the trophy.
The venue was well set for the show. The field of play had been markedinto visible tracks for convenient racing. High-table members, guests,parents and guardians were seated in a canopy close to the racetake-off point to enable them catch full glimpses of every bit of the
proceedings. House members and their officials settled in canopiespositioned directly opposite the high table members where the athletes were called up from. The medical team was also on ground to respond to injury cases. The DJ’s presence never lacked one bit as he provided the needed sounds and tunes while working in synergy with the Master of Ceremony. All finishing touches had been made, setting the stage ready for action.
To excite the guests and put them in warm mood, pop girls and dancersappeared on stage with their heart-warming dance steps and freestyles
which left the guests smiling and returning applause to them. This wasfollowed by the match past competition where all houses tried to
outshine the other and emerge winner as each paid great attention to
the three grading systems – dressing, response to command and unity ofsalutation.To officially kick-start the occasion, the school’s Proprietress, Mrs.Adaoma Igbokwe, in her address, warmly welcome all the guests and theparticipating houses and officials to the event. She said sports is
valued not just for entertainment and improvement of the physicalwell-being but, also for the exposure it gives and the enormous wealthit brings.
Igbokwe explained that sport is one of the three domains of education:cognitive, affective, and psychomotor, stressing that the highestfunction of education is to bring about an integrated individualcapable of dealing with life as a whole. She stated that ChelseaSchool has interest in meeting the demands of the three domains.
“We are keen on building our students’ intellect. However, since that
is not enough, we are also concerned about their character formation.When it comes to the development of physical aptitudes, we work as ateam to bring out the best in our students. Our school environment isconducive for teaching and learning,” Igbokwe said.
“Just as all play and no work makes students lazy, all work and noplay makes them dull. That is why we have filed out here this yearagain in pursuit of sporting excellence. It is therefore, our ferventhope that this edition will be an improvement on the last one,” theProprietress noted.
She called on the participating houses and all concerned in theactivities to approach the game with the spirit of sportsmanship,pointing out that the event was intended to showcase talents and skillsand not for war.
In the same vein, the Chairman of the occasion, Rev. Paul Chikwem, who was represented by his wife, Favour, said the event shows the
commitment everyone in the school has for sports.
“I’m sure we will witness athletic performance of the highest qualityover the course of this championship,” he said.
Chikwem advised the competitors to do their best and compete in thespirit of sportsmanship and fair-play, noting that the event wouldgive them the opportunity to come closer to each other.
“Certainly, each of you will put skills and talents against youropponents from other teams. I encourage you all to also make the most
out of this wonderful opportunity to showcase the best athletictalents and spirit of sportsmanship. Sports makes you stronger andhealthier and, also teaches us to accept defeat and celebrate victory– these lessons later become building blocks for success in life,” hesaid.
To ensure that athletes, officials and all concerned in the racesplayed by the rules of the game and with high spirit of sportsmanship,the sports oath was administered on them.
However, before this finale show, some of the major events – the longdistance races, tyre race, high jump, shot put and javelin whereathletes from the High School featured prominently, had been decided.
Over 36 field and track events including side attractions werecompeted for. The side attractions featured such races like fillingthe basket, filling the bottle, catching the bus to school, slippersrace, bursting the balloon, sack
We are keen on building our students’ intellect. However, since that is not enough, we are also concerned about their character formation. When it comes to the development of physical aptitudes, we work as a team to bring out the best in our students. Our school environment is conducive for teaching and learning
race, tug of war, among others.
Meanwhile, as the events unfolded, and as it obtains in every contest,the competing houses and their supporters in their optimism alreadydeclared themselves winners of the competition, writing off theiropponents.
A parent, Mrs. Chioma Ekwulugo, owner of Red House, whose children also made up the house, said the programme was going on fine and that their house would carry the trophy.
“It’s going very fine. I hope we will carry the trophy at the end ofthe day. We have a great team; our athletes are good. So I’m confidentwe’ll win. Green House won it last year and we intend to collect itfrom them this time,” Ekwulugo said.
An athlete in Blue House, Miss Praise Esom, said: “We’ll win and carrythe trophy. We’re wellprepared for it. We’re not afraid of any team. Our leaders are behind us, so we’ll win.” The House Mistress for Blue House, Mrs. Mary Ayinde, boasted: “Ofcourse, I expect that my house is coming first. We’re taking the lead.
If you watch our match past you will know that Blue House is comingfirst. And so far, our athletes have been doing their best to ensure
that we win. Last time, we came second but now we want to take thefirst position. We’re fully-prepared for it. So far, we’ve won three gold, three silver, with a number of bronze.” The House Master for Yellow House, Mr. Keke Emmanuel, did not sound any differently as his eye was firmly on the gold medal.
“Our team is doing very well. So far we’ve won more than four gold andwe’re still expecting more in the coming events. We won in the 200meters race for girls, 100 meters senior boys. We also won the 50 and75 meters races for junior. Our expectation is to win the firstposition and grab the coveted trophy and, we’re going all out for
that. I believe in my athletes and I know they’re equal to the task.
They’re already doing it in the field as you can see them,” Emmanuelsaid.
Finally, with all events completed and the result declared, GreenHouse emerged the overall winner with 14 gold, 11 silver and 10bronze. The house retained the trophy it had been holding since thelast two editions – making it a three time winner in a row. Red Housecame 2nd with 13 gold, 11 silver and 14 bronze. Yellow House took the3rd position garnering 9 gold, 9 silver and 18 bronze, leaving Blue
House at the 4th with 7 gold, 11 silver and 7 gold.
Speaking to THISDAY after the programme, the Sports Coordinator of the school, Miss Chinyere Ukaogo, who was visibly tired and stressed up, thanked God for enabling them to hold the programme successfully.
She said sports has a lot to do in the academic development of a child,stressing that exercise is one of the things that help to build thebody.
“It gives the children the spirit of competition. You know in life,one has to compete in order to succeed: both in the academics and i
other aspects of life; and the spirit of competition is always towin,” Ukaogo said.
According to her, inter-house sports provides the opportunity offinding talents that have been hidden in children.
“Like today, we’ve discovered some talents among them. We know those that can run very well. That’s why platforms like the interhousesports are created to enable some of them showcase their God-given talents and skills which can then be developed.” Ukaogo noted that with the kind of athletes the school produces in alltheir inter-house sports competitions, Nigerians would soon be proud
of having them as the country’s contingents in international sportingevents.
She threw more light on the importance of the side attractionsfeatured in the events, saying apart from being a form ofentertainment, they were also intended to find out whether childrenpaid attentions to the things parents help them do at home.
“For example, in filling the basket, filling the bottle and stuffslike that, these are the things their parents do for them at home. Ittells us if the child is being attentive when the parents or maids aredoing them for him or her. Whether the child is actually watchingtheir parents do that and, if the child can be able to repeat that asbeing done for him or her by the parent at home. You know their parentsfill their bottles with water when coming to school; they dress themto school. So we want to know if those children can be able to dothose things on their own.
“In filling in the basket, you know each child has his or her ownball. So we want to know if the child will be able to identify whatbelongs to him or her. If he picks somebody else’s ball, it then meanshe doesn’t know the things that belong to him,” she explained.
She noted that it was also a wake-up call for parents to begin to lettheir children start taking responsibilities at certain age.
“For those who couldn’t repeat those things as being done for them bytheir parents at home, it has given the parents a clear picture ofwhat they ought to be teaching their children at certain age. It’s noteverything the housemaids should do for them and it’s not everythingparents should do for them; there is an age they will get to thatrequires parents allowing them to take some responsibilities. Forinstance, you allow them to start dressing themselves while you watchto make corrections – you look at the collar, how they wear the shoeand things like that.”