Heritage Bank woos youths with Skoolympics
In a bid to build a heritage of champions, Heritage Bank Plc. is set to hold the finals of its novel annual sporting event for secondary schools in Nigeria known as Skoolympics, which is aimed at discovering and rewarding talents. The finals of the competition will take place on November 2 to 4 at Teslim Balogun Stadium in Surulere, Lagos.
Using Lagos State for the pilot scheme, the annual competition would feature sporting activities like basketball, athletics, handball, table tennis and swimming among others.
Heritage Bank’s sports development project, the Skoolympics, has been described as the brightest corporate support project for Nigerian children and the future.
The bank’s Executive Director, Service Bank, Mr. Niyi Adeseun who represented the MD /CEO, Mr. Ifie Sekibo, at the launch said that the idea behind Skoolympics was the holistic development of young people, fostering their physical, social and emotional health.
“The benefits of Skoolympics reach beyond the impact on physical well-being and the value of the educational benefits of Skoolympics should not be underestimated,” he said.
Following the event, there would be post-event management of the winning athletes through mentoring process that could lead to award of scholarships by international or local organisations in order for them to fulfill their career in sports.
The bank intends to collaborate with the Lagos State Government to build a culture of sports hand-in-hand with the formal education in a bid to secure the future of the teaming population.
To this end, the lender will bring together more than 80 public and private schools with about 6,000 students competing across all local government areas of Lagos State in the maiden edition.
The major objectives of the project are to increase participation in sports in order to discover talents and future Olympians, to groom young athletes yearly from the grassroots who will be developed, train and nurture them to compete and achieve their dreams, as well as to create a platform through sports where youths will become great in the various communities.
Former five-time Olympian, Mary Onyali, who is the brand ambassador for Skoolympics, said she was particularly excited that the project encourages the modern generation of young and aspiring athletes to combine sports and education.
She said: “I appreciate my choice as the Skoolympics Ambassador by Heritage Bank. I also appreciate their confidence in the future of the children of Nigeria. I will do my best to justify the confidence of the bank in my contributions to helping our nation produce the next generation of world beaters in sports. I see the future is very bright for them,” she said.
The maiden edition in Lagos would be held in the six educational districts of Agege, Ikeja, Badagry, Epe and Ikorodu among others.
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