Lagos State Education District IV has held its annual sports festival at the Teslim Balogun Stadium, Surulere, where students from the three zones in the District showcased their talents and passion for different sports.
The Tutor-General/Permanent Secretary, Education District IV, Mr. Charles Adeboye Olajide, said the event was organised to promote sporting activities among the students in the district, improve their mental wellness and physical fitness towards achieving their academic goals.
He explained that the festival had earlier begun with zonal elimination series among the schools in the District for the selection of the best athletes among the competitors who will feature in the grand finale.
While urging the students to keep their passion for sports growing, Olajide congratulated the winners and advised those that did not win to believe in themselves and be hopeful they can do better next time, charging them not to relent in their efforts but rather to work harder to improve.
The Permanent Secretary also appreciated the teachers for mentoring and coaching the students, while also commending the principals for their leadership roles and support to the participating teams from their various schools.
“Sports festivals like this will help discover new talent among the students, who will be representing the State in National and International sports programmes as well as becoming our future champions”, he said.
The Director of Co-Curricular Science and Technology, Mr. Muyideen Apatira, emphasised the need to discover new sports talents through the festival, saying it will help contribute to sports development in the country, particularly in Lagos State.
The Project Manager, Dreamsports Africa, Mr. John Anejo, delivering a goodwill message from his organisation, thanked the organiser of the event, expressing his delight to witness the discovery of future champions in the State.
He, however, appealed to the students not to relent in their efforts but to keep up with training sessions with a view to improving on their skills which will help them to excel in the nearest future.
Miss Veronica Ape of Herbert Macauley Senior School and Master Anaete David of Mainland Senior School, both won the Female and Male Best Athletes in the Senior Category respectively; while Miss Adejubo Opeyemi of Obele Community Junior High won the Best Athlete, Junior Category (Girls), and Master Dolapo Fashola of State Junior Grammar School (Special) won both the Best Male and Overall Best Athlete of the competition.
The Mainland Zone of the District won Eight Gold Medals, Apapa Zone won Nine Gold Medals, while Surulere Zone emerged winner with a total of 23 Gold Medals.
