Tare Pet Wins Secondary School Netball Competition in Bayelsa

By Eric Ojo

Tare Pet Montessori Group of Schools has won the third edition of the Bayelsa State Netball Challenge for secondary schools in the state.

Tarepet Angels defeated Dynamite Divas 11-5, in a keenly contested final match that rounded off the events of the International Day of Sport for Development and Peace (IDSDP), which is celebrated annually on the 6^th of April.

The tournament which was held in the middle of the second term school holiday, was powered by Community Sport and Educational Development (CSED) Initiative and Lord’s Taverners, a reputable sport charity based in the United Kingdom (UK).

Ten secondary schools and two netball clubs (Dynamite Divas and Platinum Angels) participated in the two-day energy sapping event that involved a total of twenty matches which were played at the indoor court and a newly marked outdoor netball court of the Samson Siasia Sports Stadium in Yenagoa.

Notably, the twelve participating team were divided into four groups, from where successful team moved to the quarter-finals, semi-finals, and the final match.

The third-place match was contested by Platinum Angels Club and New Total Child School, which was won by the latter.

Unlike last year’s competition, the number of participating teams was severely affected by the fact that this year’s IDSDP celebration happened during school holiday period.

Secondly, the final match that was slated for April 6 had to be held a day earlier, because the Local Government elections in the state were held on that day, and there was restriction of the movement for members of the public on election day.

The setback notwithstanding, the netballers enjoyed themselves, especially when their parents were cheering them on from the terraces.

The tournament was preceded by a technical meeting that was convened by the Bayelsa State Netball Association for all the 40 netball registered schools/teams in the state, the officiating umpires and the organizers of the Bayelsa Netball Challenge.

Issues that were discussed at the technical meeting include safeguarding, how to use netball in actualizing SDG Number 5 (gender equality and empowering all girls and women), as well as the importance of umpires in ensuring hitch-free netball matches.

The technical meeting also involved other activities including practical netball case scenarios, the marking of the netball courts and an interactive session on the topic; “What Can Be Done to Further Develop the Game of Netball in Bayelsa State”.

Dignitaries that graced the opening ceremony include some of the parents of the netballers, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Youth and Sports Development, Mrs Grace Alagoa, Sir Braveman Wodi (the Director of Sports, Bayelsa State Sports Council), the Personal Assistant to the Director of Sports, BYSSC, Mr Nana Michael, Mrs. Hannah (Deputy Director Sports Academy Asoama), the patroness of Dynamite Divas Club and Platinum Angels Club, Mrs. Egona Godwin, as well as other departmental representatives from the state sport council, attended the tournament.

Interestingly, Bayelsa State is currently the number 1, netball playing state in Nigeria, and the goal of the Bayelsa State Sports Council and the Bayelsa State Ministry of Education, is to gradually grow well balanced and healthy students who will grow to love the game, as a life time sport, and not just for the purpose of harvesting medals at future National Sports Festivals.

It would be recalled that less than a month ago, the Sporting Coders pilot programme was successfully completed at the Tare Pet Montessori Group of Schools.

This programme which involved 21 netballers from the school, is the first of its kind in Nigeria, that used access to sport, such as netball, to try to address the underrepresentation of girls/women in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) careers.