Sports
Organisers Raise Prize Money For Obudu Mountain Race
The prize money for the 5th Obudu international mountain race has been slightly adjusted to accommodate the first African mountain running championships which will hold alongside the Obudu international mountain race next month at the Obudu Ranch Resort in Obudu, Cross River State.Chairman of the Local Organising Committee (LOC) said for the two-in-one race price money has gone up from $227,000 to $245,500.
However, the prize money for the first three positions for both male and female events remain the same at $50,000, $20,000 and $9,000 respectively to still make the Obudu international mountain race the highest paying mountain race in the world.
The prize money from the 4th to the 10th placed finishers have, however, been adjusted to $4,500, $4,000, $3,000, $2,500, $2,000, $1,500 and $1,000 respectively.
Archibong also revealed the prize money for the African mountain running championships as follows: The first and second prize winners in the strict team event will get $10,000 and $7,500, respectively.
“The African nations mountain race will be competed for by only male runners this year representing their different countries and will be run side by side the annual Obudu international mountain race,” reveals Archibong, who has been the head of the LOC since 2005, when the inaugural edition of the race was run.
The LOC boss also revealed that the prize monies for the best Nigerian finishers (male and female) as well as those for the media race still remain the same with the first three finishers winning $2,000, $1,500, and $1,000 respectively.
The Obudu international mountain race uncovers a distance of 11 kilometres uphill to an altitude of 1,575 metres above sea level taking you to one of the first tourist destinations in the world, the Obudu Mountain Resort. The race has already received the support of the new man at the helm of affairs of the World Mountain Running Association (WMRA). Italian, Bruno Gozzelino who has hinted that the race may get a WMRA Grand Prix status as early as 2011 if the Obudu LOC makes a request.
The Confederation of African Athletics (AA) is also backing the race and its Secretary General, Lamy Fatty wrote the AFN recently to express their support for the innovative efforts of Governor Liyel Imoke especially regarding the African Mountain Running Championships. The race has also attracted the new commonwealth mountain running champion, Wilson Chemwepo of Kenya.
WMRA Women’s grand Prix Winner and the race defending woman champion, Andrea Mayr of Austria as well as Czech Republic’s Anna Pichatova who won the women’s individual event at penultimate weekends World Mountain Running Long Distance Challenge in Soll, Austria.
Hon Dike who spoke with sports journalists shortly after the flag off the 2024 edition of Chairman’s Football Unity Tournament at Botem Tai in Tai LGA, said the tournament is an annual event to promote peace and unity in Tai as well identify budding talents in the area for global competition.
The opening ceremony of the tournament was more like a carnival was witnessed by huge crowd including prominent indigenes of Ogoni Kingdom, sports lovers and people from all works of life.
The LGA boss revealed that special sports committee will be setup in the area to work out modalities to strengthen sports development in Tai.
He advised the participants in the tournament from various wards in the LGA to play the game by the rules and conduct themselves in a peaceful and orderly manner and use the opportunity to showcase their talents.
Hon Dike further disclosed that his administration will also give priority attention to skills development among the youth to enhance their human capacity and promote enterprise development in the area.
Earlier in his address the Chairman of Tai LGA Football Council, Elder Wisdom Gorgor said the annual football competition has been a unifying factor in Tai LGA that need to be sustained to forge more unity and development in the area.
He urged the participants to see the competition as an opportunity to embrace football as a full career and earn sustainable livelihood.
Elder Gorgor who commended the Chairman of Tai LGA, Hon Dike for his visionary leadership and tremendous development achievements recorded in the LGA under his administration, appealled to the Chairman to build a Mini Sports Stadium in the area to promote sporting activities.
The training was held at the Sani Abacha Stadium Indoor Basketball Court in Kano last Saturday.
According to the Vice President and Head of NBA Nigeria, Gbemisola Abudu, the event was part of the league’s commitment to growing broader basketball ecosystem in Nigeria and making the game more accessible across the country.
“Our first Jr. NBA clinic in Kano speaks to our commitment to growing the game in Nigeria and creating more opportunities for boys and girls to learn and play the game,” Abudu said.
“Nigeria has a rich basketball history and abundance of talent, which is evident every time you watch an NBA game. We look forward to continuing to engage with basketball stakeholders, business leaders and members of the community to further the game’s reach and impact on young people around the country,” she added.
The 2024 basketball initiative clinics of NBA Nigeria also included the league’s inaugural Jr. NBA elite camp for 150 boys and age-16 girls held at the American International School in Lagos in July.
Others include the NBA’s building of 1,000 courts in Africa over the next decade, Nigeria’s Festival Coins and Salubata named the top two winning businesses at NBA Africa Triple-Double Accelerator’s inaugural Demo Day in New York City held last September, and the third edition of “NBA Meets Art,” a curated installation celebrating basketball through the lens of Nigerian art and culture as part of West Africa’s premier art fair Art X Lagos, held in November.
Central to this vision is the federation’s investment in capacity building, evident in the just-concluded one-week Level 1 Badminton World Federation (BWF) Coaching Course, which marked a significant milestone for Nigerian badminton.
Held in Abuja, the course brought together 13 young coaches from across Nigeria. The last time such a course was held in the country was in 2017, making this a historic and transformative step.
The training was facilitated by the Badminton Confederation of Africa (BCA) in partnership with the Badminton Federation of Nigeria (BFN) and conducted by Dr. Ahmed Radah, the BCA Development Manager.
Radah, impressed by the talent he witnessed, praised Nigeria’s potential.
“Nigeria is blessed with immense talent and a strong badminton tradition. I believe this country has what it takes to dominate on the global stage,” he remarked.