By Eric Ojo
Badminton Federation of Nigeria (BFN) has trained additional secondary school Physical Education (P.E) teachers and students in Bayelsa.
The two-day training which was organized under the auspices of “Shuttle Time” initiative, was held at the indoor sports hall of Samson Siasia Stadium.
Shuttle Time is a grassroots badminton training programme that is designed by the Badminton World Federation (BWF), to make badminton accessible to students. It is aimed at enabling them to learn the basics of the game in a creative way.
Notably, Shuttle Time is one of the sports learning programme in the world where students and their teachers can learn about the basics of the game together.
The training was attended by P.E. Teachers from twenty-three schools, as well as over eighty secondary school students. It was facilitated by Shuttle Time Coordinator, coach Suleiman Tajudeen and Mimi Onengiyi (certified Shuttle Time tutor).
Bayelsa State Commissioner for Youth and Sports Development. Chief Daniel Igali was represented at the event by the Director of Sports Bayelsa State Sports Council, Sir Braveman Wodi, at the event.
In his address, Sir Wodi reaffirmed the commitment of the Bayelsa State Government to the development of sports and the training of coaches and P.E. Teachers.
He applauded the BFN team led by Mr. Francis Orbih and their grassroots development partner, Community Sport and Educational Development (CSED) Initiative, for taking grassroots badminton to secondary schools in the state.
He equally commended the Bayelsa State Governor, Senator Douye Diri and his Deputy, Senator Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo, and the Commissioner for Youth and Sports Development, Chief Daniel Igali, for giving premium attention to sports in the last three and half years of the administration.
The highlight of the training event was the presentation of free equipment (badminton rackets, nets, and shuttles) courtesy of CSED Initiative, to the secondary school students that participated in the programme.
