The 2024 NiMSA games are knocking at the door of each participating MSA. From the 11th to the 17th of August, all roads lead to the University of Lagos as schools will compete for gold, silver, and bronze across different sports like track and field events, male and female football, mixed volleyball, male and female basketball, and indoor games such as checkers, chess, scrabble, FIFA, and Ayò.
In UIMSA, there are high expectations for participation at the games. In preparation for the games, the UIMSA Sports Committee, headed by the Sports Secretary, Chidinma Onyuike, organised a pre-game heat to scout the best talents to represent the association in Lagos. This article will analyse the Heats and how this reflects UIMSA’s chances at the NiMSA games.
Track and Field Events
The Track and Field heats were held on Saturday, 22nd June 2024, and were packed with good performances. These include the performance of Oni Allie of the 2k24 class in the Male 1500m race. Allie emerged at the top of the pile without breaking a sweat, dominating, but not so surprising knowing his repute as a top fitness trainer. Adeoluwa Ariyo, also of the 2k24 class, showed much improvement as he bagged gold in the 100m and 400m male categories. While the time taken from start to finish is unknown, first-hand witnesses said it points to a promising performance at the NiMSA games. For the female races, newcomer Banke of the 2k27 class had the spotlight as she grabbed gold and silver medals in the 400m and 100m female races.
For Field events, the results were equally promising. In the Male shot-put contest, Ebenezer ‘Eben-Carson’ Bolaji of the 2k25 delivered heavily, once again showing how powerful his throws are, in a call back to his performance at the last Ulympics. Samuel Francis and Emmanuel Soriwei of the 2k25 Class also shone in the Male Javelin and Long Jump contest. The Sports Secretary outdid the field in the Female Javelin category.
From these, UIMSA just might pull off upsets against NiMSA Games regulars. However, this would take a great deal of training. With less than a month to go, our chances here depend on how willing individual athletes are to train, especially for the throws and track events. There was a notable absence of athletes for the Female 800m and 1500m races. We hope that interested UIMSAites indicate their willingness to fly the association’s flag in those long-distance races.
Football
The football segment was held on the 29th of June, featuring male and female football. In the male category, 2k27 faced off against 2k26 while 2k25 played 2k24. The former ended 3:1 in the favour of the freshmen. Adegoke Segun of the 2k27 class was a star-attacking midfielder here as he commanded the midfield and registered an out-of-the-box winner. At the same time, Ugbaja Chima of the 2k26 class was also solid as a centre-back, scoring the initial equaliser. Abiodun Abdul-Azeez, also of the 2k26 class, did his best to neutralise the pressure from the opponents as a defending midfielder, even though the game didn’t go in his favour.
The 2k24 vs 2k25 game ended in a draw (technicalities involved), with 2k24 pressing their counterparts hard. Badmus Babajide of the 2k24 class, time and time again, proved to be deadly in front of goal. Olokugnbemi Gerald was also spectacular in commanding the midfield, doing well as the single pivot between the defence and attack. Ibrahim Badmus and Abdulsamad Oladunni (2k25) were other solid performers of the day, squaring accurate passes and rarely losing the ball.
The female football match revealed many talents from the participating classes. Victoria Elegbede of the 2k24 class was solid at the midfield and scored the winner for 2k25 against 2k24. Loveth Ayegboyin of the 2k26 class was also phenomenal for her side, and 2k27’s Omotola set-pieces and shot power raised eyebrows. This match ended in a draw.
Football has always been a strength of UIMSA, and the perception is no different from that of these heats. We look forward to how both coaches, Olamide Omotunde (male) and Ayotunde Oni (female), intend to maximise players’ strengths for a home run. It would also be interesting to see how they adapt to the exit of key players in the 2k19 class.
Volleyball
Only three classes (2k24, 2k25 and 2k27) could participate in the heat, with 2k26 failing to produce a team. The heats had two matches, with 2k25 and 2k24 having a face-off at first. 2k24 won by a landslide after registering 15:1 and 15:3 in both sets in their favour. Adura Abraham of 2k24 was an engine for the team, and Adetomiwa Ariyo, a deadly attacker also for the 2k24 team. Ebenezer Bolaji was a standout athlete for the 2k25, with a solid shift behind the frontline.
2k24 proceeded to face the 2k27 class. The game initially seemed to be keenly contested but ended 15:3 and 15:10 for both sets, with 2k24 taking the win. From the look of things, a considerable number of representatives for volleyball will emerge from the 2k24 team. Practice sessions to incorporate the equally impressive 2k21 class would be welcome.
Basketball
The basketball heat was more of a mixed-class event than the expected interclass, as most classes could not present a complete team of representatives. The participants were mainly from the 2k27 class but were later joined by a few 2k24 participants. Adetoro Jolamade of the 2k27 was a great addition to her team, as we witnessed her shot accuracy. Ademola Ayomide of the 2k24 class is another worthy gem.
There wasn’t enough to judge based on this game. However, we could bank on the expertise of players like Onyinyechi Osisiogwu of the 2k24 Class, a prominent player on the UI Team, and 2k21’s renowned ball quintuplets, to put up a fantastic showing if they do participate in Lagos.
Board Games
The chess preparation was inconclusive, as the modalities given by the NIMSA Games organisers have not been ironed out. According to a notable chess player in the association, the number of rounds played wasn’t efficient in determining representatives. It also doesn’t help that NiMSA asked for just one representative per MSA for chess when a minimum of four should be sent. This questions the quality of the games in August. Also, heats for other games, like Ayò and FIFA football video games, could not hold.
Conclusion
Going by the heats, UIMSA still has a lot of preparation to make if we record medal wins in August. It’s down to the Sports Committee to ensure that training and all other requirements are set in place as soon as possible. For sports with limited participants, further calls might have to be made to ensure the contingent doesn’t lack capacity.
Sidiq Moshood.
