UZARUE, Etsako West – In a serious push to advertise grassroots sports activities improvement, the Edo Sports activities Fee and the Badminton Federation of Nigeria (BFN) hosted a two-day coaching occasion for recreation masters/mistresses on 27–28 February 2025.
The coaching, held at St Angela’s Women Grammar Faculty Uzarue, introduced collectively 21 academics and 84 college students from 21 secondary faculties throughout Etsako land, in addition to contributors from Igarra, Afuze, and Ikpeshi.
The initiative is notable for its distinctive strategy—offering each academics and college students with the chance to study the basics of badminton concurrently. The programme mixed theoretical classes with sensible periods, emphasising the fundamentals of the game.
Three licensed “Shuttle Time” trainers, Godswill Afejika, Olalekan Fajimiyo, and Blessing Osayomwanbo, led the periods. Individuals had been launched to important methods such because the formed grip and the thumb grip and engaged in drills utilizing balloons for providers and smashing workouts.
On the second day, the coaching took a extra specialised flip. The sport masters/mistresses participated in a technical session masking the intricacies of officiating, the foundations of the sport, safeguarding protocols, and their pivotal function in growing badminton inside their faculties.
In the meantime, the scholars honed their sensible abilities, specializing in primary grips, strokes, footwork, and recreation guidelines by way of participating, balloon-assisted drills.
Bankrolled by the Edo State Sports activities Fee and technically supported by the BFN, the occasion was powered by the Neighborhood Sport and Instructional Improvement (CSED) Initiative.
On the conclusion of the coaching, free primary badminton tools—together with nets, rackets, and shuttlecocks—was distributed to the 21 faculties, additional encouraging ongoing apply and talent improvement.
Officers from each organisations highlighted the collaborative nature of the occasion. They emphasised that the coaching was a testomony to what could be achieved when authorities companies, sporting our bodies, NGOs, and personal companions be part of forces to foster sports activities on the grassroots degree.
For the reason that present BFN Board Members assumed workplace, they’ve actively pursued partnerships and sponsorships to draw new and younger gamers by way of initiatives resembling “Shuttle Time” and outreach coaching throughout Nigeria’s six geo-political zones.
The federation has additionally prolonged its efforts to at-risk teams, together with internally displaced individuals and asylum seekers, setting a benchmark for sports activities improvement nationwide.
The success of the Uzarue coaching occasion is predicted to encourage related initiatives in different sports activities, showcasing how community-based programmes can construct capability amongst academics and college students whereas nurturing the subsequent technology of badminton expertise in Nigeria.
