End-Of-Year Conversation With UADS Executives On Manifesto Deliverables: Sports Secretary, Sanni Babawande

Dentatics Press recently spoke with Sanni Babawande, the UADS Sports Secretary, and he opened up about the successes and setbacks of his manifesto's promises.

Constitutional Duties and Service Record

Serving as Deputy Majority Leader provided insights into what being a student leader entails. This prior experience helped me to develop skills in representing constituents, making decisions in their best interest, and fulfilling other duties that come with the role.

Football And Volleyball

Despite efforts to increase football training sessions, turnout hasn’t been encouraging especially for the female team. However, there are notable positives worth highlighting. Collaboration with the Assistant General Secretary led to the incorporation of Freshers vs Staylites football match into the Fresher’s welcome program. Minor changes to the male football team’s tactics were made, and it yielded positive results. A friendly match was played against UIMSA in August, and we participated in the Super Cup. The UADS Fantasy Premier League started with the English Premier League season and 31 UADS members are currently registered. Cash prizes will be awarded to top performers, with the specific amount still under deliberation.

Interested UADS members train with the ABH volleyball players on Thursdays and Saturdays. The major plans include organizing friendly volleyball matches with other faculties and continuous participation in university-organized football competitions.

Female Participation and Class Participation

Female participation in sports has been underwhelming largely due lack of enthusiasm for sports like football and volleyball. Five-aside friendlies haven’t taken place because of poor training attendance from supposed players, despite various efforts to address the issue. Meetings were held with football team members from each class to discuss low turnouts. Executives also addressed available members during physical class visits.

Indoor Games

The plan for UADS members to play indoor games(scrabble, chess, and ludo) on a fortnightly basis has been implemented, but the turnout for the first session can be likened to nothing. There is also a UADS indoor games group with several UADS members in it. However, the majority of the members are inactive, resulting in no tournaments or competitions organized yet. The indoor games will continue next year, and UADS members are encouraged to make themselves available for them.

Health Week

Confirmed events for Health Week include male & female football matches(sponsored), egg races, and indoor games (scrabble, chess, and ludo). Additional funding will come from Alumni donations and contributions.

Challenges And Solutions

The major challenges facing the growth of sports in UADS are widespread apathy towards sporting activities, and poor time management, as members tend to come late for activities. To address this, continued efforts will focus on encouraging members to participate, and emphasis will be placed on punctuality.

Future Of Sports In UADS

UADS male football team has witnessed tremendous improvement; members are representing the University of Ibadan at chess competitions and holding key positions in the ABH volleyball team. There’s still room for improvement despite this progress. If more members show increased interest and participation, the potential of UADS sports in the future is more than promising.