HISTORY OF GYMNASTICS IN NIGERIA

By

Gymnastics in Nigeria is as old as our culture. In different parts of Nigeria (Acrobatic) gymnastic are played days in days out, but it is more prominent in the former Mid-Western, Western region and the Eastern part Nigeria. In this part of Nigeria, gymnastics is incorporated into the traditional dances especially the igbabonelimi of the Ishans in Edo State.
However, Olympic gymnastics did not start in Nigeria until the year 1974 when some Chinese coaches invited by the federal government on an exchange programme through the then national sport Commission under Major general Henry Adefowope (rtd).
Sometimes in September 1974 the Chinese coaches visited some primary’s and secondary schools in lagos State to scout for talented young able bodied students between the ages of 9-12 years. About to hundred students were selected from the schools visited by the Chinese experts/coaches and were later assembled at the indoor sport hall of the National Stadium Surulere Lagos for training.
After about two months of rigorous training, the numbers of the young student were reduced from two hundred to ten boys to form the first national gymnastics team. Among these ten boys were Sadiq Momodu- the captain, Jimoh Sunmola the assistant, Akabon Aki, Ebong Okon, Ita Okon, Oladipo Olaosebikan, Fatai Ogunsola, Oluwatoba Ganiu.

The overall governing body for gymnastics in Nigeria is the Gymnastics Federation of Nigeria. The organization, which was founded in 1975, is a member of the International Federation of Gymnastics and was established with the goal of "an all-around development of gymnastics in Nigeria and beyond." In 1975 the National gymnastics association was formally inaugurated by the then National Sports Commision and the first chairman of the association was Late Professor Amos. T. Oduyale. While the first secretary was former Miss Yemisi Alalade and the first indigeneous coach was Mr. Ezekiel Adeoti. The first Chinese coachs names was Mr, Chin followed by Mr, Chang Lee and Mr. Suu. After the inauguration is awareness drive by taking the young gymnasts to the nooks and cranny of the country to demonstrate to the sporting public the arrival of a new game. These demonstrations were always during the national or international championships holding in any part of Nigeria or during the national sports festivals as non-scoring.
The development of the game
When gymnastics became accepted as scoring in the 5th All Africa Games in Cario Egypt in 1991, Nigeria was represented by a male and female team and they did Nigeria proud by winning 1 gold medal, 2 silver and 1 bronze to come 3rd position in the championship. Nigeria was represented by 2 gymnasts in the world individual gymnastics championship in Paris in the year 1992.
Nigeria also sent a team to the world championship Birmingham in Great Britain. In 1994, Nigeria sent a team of 4 boys to represent her in the commonwealth game her in the commonwealth game held in Victoria Canada.
Uche Eke is first gymnast to compete for Nigeria at the Olympics. He achieved this feat at the 2020 Summer Olympic games which took place in 2021 in Tokyo, Japan.
Uche Eke representing Nigeria at the Olympics

How to Reference this article

Ademola, V. D (2019). History of gymnastics in Nigeria. Retrieved from https://www.youdread.com/2019/05/history-of-gymnastics-in-nigeria.html

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

20 EXAMPLES OF INDOOR RECREATIONAL ACTIVITIES

By
Image
Recreational activities are usually done for fun and enjoyment. They are done during one’s leisure or free time and they usually are voluntary. In many cases, recreational sports activities requires no specific rules and regulations, there’s usually no monetary reward and they are usually done among family, friends and colleagues. An individual playing video game at home Indoor recreational activities as the name implies includes all activities done indoors for fun and enjoyment during one’s leisure time.  One key thing to understand when grouping examples of indoor recreational activities lies in the location the activity takes place. For the activity to be indoor, it should be done in a building or a space which is usually under cover. Indoor recreational activities are usually done at home, in a sheltered facility, or at a specially built sport venue like a gym an arena, or a roofed stadium.  It is also important to note that many indoor recreational activities can also be ...
Read more

HISTORY OF PHYSICAL AND HEALTH EDUCATION IN NIGERIA

By
Image
Last Updated:  August 28th, 2023 Physical and health education is an integral part of general education that aims to develop an individual physically, mentally, socially and emotionally. It consist of sports and games, recreation, first aid, safety education, sports psychology, exercise physiology, sports administration and management, among others. In ancient times, physical education in Nigeria was unstructured and it included physical activities for hunting in search for food. However, some traditional games were also played during this time. An example is dambe (traditional boxing), Kokawa (Traditional wrestling), among others. Students Participating In Sports in a Nigerian School An examination of the research endeavors of Nigerian physical and health educators reveals that substantial scholarly efforts in these fields only commenced in the late sixties and early seventies. Initially, research primarily focused on the history and administration of sports and physical ...
Read more

PHYSICAL EDUCATION DURING THE AGES OF FEUDALISM

By
Image
Last Updated:  April 28tth, 2022  Feudalism is a system of land tenancy. It is developed as a result of integration of the Roman Empire, where individuals sought protection within the umbrella of the strong Lords or the nobles to form education which is upon to the children of the nobles namely: 1.       Clergy education /priesthood 2.       Knighthood Feudalism Era Sons of noblemen had two options for careers during the medieval era.  They might enroll in church training and become the clergy, or they might become knights. If they made a decision to support the church, they sought a religious and academic education.  In the clergy school, the clergy men are like pastors, they pursued an education that was religious and academic in nature.   The youths were taught liberal scents but there was no form of organized physical education while chivalry education was physical, social and military in nature an...
Read more