In a couple of days, Freshmen will treat the Great Ife community to some fine display of sporting activities in the sports fiesta. The sports fiesta is organized by the office of the Sports director of the Great Ife students union, which seeks to target young talents among first-year students. Medivoice, in an interview with the Great Ife Student Union’s Sports director, Oluwanooni, sought to engage him on the forthcoming event.
Medivoice: Can we meet you, please?
Oluwanooni: Hi, I am Ogundana Ayoutunde Oluwanooni, a part 6 medical student. I hail from Ekiti state and am the current Sports Director for Great Ife Students Union.
Medivoice: Nice meeting you. So we’ve seen some flyers around about the Sports fiesta. So, could you tell us about the sports fiesta and what birth the idea of the Sports Fiesta is?
Oluwanooni: The idea of the sports fiesta is to introduce the first-year students to the rich sports culture of Great Ife and also pick talents among them that would replace the talents that have graduated from the school. Of course, we’ve always had numerous talents come in and go out, but we need to pick these talents early and groom them toward representing OAU in sports outside the university.
Medivoice: What major sporting events will occur at the Sports Fiesta?
Oluwanooni: The major sports are for both categories. They include Athletics, 100m, 200m, 400m, 800m, 1500m, and 4x100m relay. We also have football, basketball, tennis, scrabble, chess, swimming, and boxing.
Medivoice: Football is one of the major sports, and most focus will be on it, so what are the modalities from the draw?
Oluwanooni: As we all know, there are 13 faculties in the university. So we decided to go with the knockout format because of our limited time. There will be a free slot for a faculty. This faculty qualifies automatically for the quarter-final to play the best loser from the knockout rounds.
There will be 12 faculties facing each other. The six winners from the six fixtures will progress to the quarter-final together with a 7th faculty – the best loser. The best loser from the knockout round will be selected based on goal difference. The team with the lowest negative goal difference qualifies. In a case where two teams have the same goal difference, we use the least number of goals conceded. For instance, if a team loses 4-2 and another loses 2-0, the team that lost 2-0 will progress to the next round.
When two teams meet these criteria, we use the number of cards received by both teams during the round, and the team with the least number of cards received advances to the next round. In the case of an equal number of cards, we move to the number of fouls. We might not need to get to this point, but we must prepare for any possibility.
Medivoice: Who are the major sponsors for this event, or are there no sponsors?
Oluwanooni: At the moment, we’ve written some proposals to potential sponsors, and we are looking forward to a favourable response from them. That’s where we are currently in terms of sponsorship.
Medivoice: What are the prizes for outstanding performers at the sports fiesta?
Oluwanooni: There will be medals given to the winners of each event. There is a trophy for the winners of the football competition. There will also be a general winner because we will use the Olympic format. Also, suppose we get favourable responses from our sponsors. In that case, we will be giving monetary prizes to the highest goal scorer, the best player for the football category, and the best basketballer to improve the participation of the first-year students.
Medivoice: What should spectators and viewers expect from the fiesta?
Oluwanooni: Our viewers, Great Ife students, and the generality of the Great Ife community should expect nothing short of the best. We are putting a lot of effort into making this as beautiful as possible. To prepare the atmosphere, the Vice Chancellor will be gracing the opening ceremony with his presence. The competition kicks off on the 25th of November. Trust me; Great Ife students will be wowed by some of the spectacular things they will see at the tournament. I have been to some of the training sessions of these freshmen, and I can tell you that these guys are spectacular and will bring in all those sporting energies to the fiesta.
Medivoice: What other sporting plans do you have for Great Ife Students?
Oluwanooni: Yes, I have a lot of plans in store for great Ife students, ranging from all activities for the mind to physical sporting activities. We’re also creating a referee association to train members. The female inter-faculty will also be introduced to the OAU sports festival. There will be an OAU health walk and inter-hall competition. We also plan to train sportspeople on cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and emergency responses. There are numerous plans I have outlined for Great Ife students that will be for the benefit of the students.
Medivoice: Do you have any words for Great Ife Students in general?
Oluwanooni: I want to thank the Great Ife students for their support and active participation thus far, and we want them to look forward to all the activities we have lined up for them. I also implore that we keep engaging our minds. They should also keep engaging in sports to keep the mind sharp and the body.
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