Ex- AFN president floats academy for high altitude sports
The former Plateau State director of sports told Feverpitch that the state which has high topography of about 32,000 feet above sea level with a moderate temperate climate condition provides suitable conditions for endurance training. He said all academic activities will be at Kunet, Butura in Bokkos LGA where the school is located but everything […]
The former Plateau State director of sports told Feverpitch that the state which has high topography of about 32,000 feet above sea level with a moderate temperate climate condition provides suitable conditions for endurance training.
He said all academic activities will be at Kunet, Butura in Bokkos LGA where the school is located but everything that has to do with the practical and stamina building will be at Pankshin, Hawan Kibo Ryom and the Jos sherry hills.
Ahmadu explained that the academy boasts of a standard track, a football field and flat land for speed training just as he expressed confidence that with the academy, Plateau State will soon produce athletes who can compete favourably with the Kenyans and Ugandans in the long distance races.
He said: “Plateau State has a high topography of about 32,000 feet above sea level with a moderate temperate climatic condition which makes it the higher you go the cooler it becomes and the lesser the oxogen, making it suitable for training for long distance races.
“It is for this reason that I have decided to establish a college of sport with the name High Altitude College of Sports Technology in Bokkos Local Government Area of Plateau State.
“The aim of the school is to among other things provide scientific learning and coaching experiences with emphasis on long distance races, team sports, individual sports like wrestling, boxing and weightlifting”.
The former first vice-president of the Athletics Federation of Nigeria, AFN, between 1997-2000, therefore, called on the minister of sports and chairman of the National Sports Commission, Malam Bolaji Abdullahi to visit the school to ascertain the suitability of the facilities for possible collaboration.
While decrying Nigeria’s poor performance at the just concluded London 2012 Olympics, Ahmadu called for early preparations for the 2016 Rio de janeiro Olympic.