Other Sports
Dominant Ewruje picks Lekki Scrabble Classics title
With an unusual smile playing across his face as he held the silver trophy high above his head, James Ewruje on Saturday confirmed his new status as the champion of the newly rebranded Lekki Scrabble Classics.
The Master player claimed the overall title and emerged the best among the 100 players who competed over 12 games at the one-day tournament.
Ewruje shrugged off the challenges of tournament top favourite Tega Okiemute of Delta State in the last round to cement his pole-position on the log with 11 wins, one defeat and a spread of 599 cumulative points.
The defeat would be costly as Okiemute tumbled to the fourth position at the end.
Ogun State-based Gbadebo Olufemi rallied to second position with 10 wins and two defeats plus 466 cumulative points after a win over a highly impressive Monday Christopher on Table 2 in round 12.
Coming on his heels was Khaleel Adedeji who recorded the same number of wins and defeats but dropped to third position with an inferior cumulative points of 370.
The impressive Dynamite Warriors’ engine room also revved up to snatch the intermediate category title.
Other players in the top 20 which included former African champion Jimoh Saheed, John Aiyedun and Opeyemi Oloro recieved various cash prizes for their efforts.
In other spot prizes won, Bukunmi Afolayan picked the Best Female title while Philip Akhabue was rewarded with a complete scrabble kit as the youngest player.
David Ogedengbe got a surprise cash gift from the organisers for putting on a green and white shirt in commemoration of the 62nd Independence Day Anniversary.
Speaking at the tournament which was held in an atmosphere of conviviality, a trademark of the club’s events, Captain of Lekki Scrabble Club Ebikeme Adowei said the Lekki Scrabble Classics was able to tick some critical boxes due to the quality of minds who share the same vision with one another at the club.
“We are all commonly bonded in our passion for scrabble” he confessed, “and so we decided to have this periodic event, which is a bi-annual event so that we can gather the creme-de-la creme of scrabble in Nigeria to compete, have fun and win prizes.”
“I’m glad we have this level of competition to offer scrabble players and we hope to sustain this. We are hoping that corporate organisations will key into this initiative to grow the game of scrabble not only football, basketball but mental sports like scrabble and chess.”
South-West Zonal Coordinator of the Nigeria Scrabble Federation (NSF) Emmanuel Egbele who incidentally is a member of the club said the tournament has met his expectations considering the huge number of players, the ambience, the high level of competition and friendly feeling amongst the players.
He said the Classics has impacted on the players’ mind skills as they prepare for the National Sports Festival and the Africa Scrabble Championship (ASC) taking place in Lusaka, Zambia this month.
Lagos State Scrabble and Monopoly Association Chairman Engr. Dipo Akanbi said the Lekki Scrabble Classics has become a kind of Mecca for players around the country due to the offerings available.
He said the open nature of the event was critical in solidifying the sports as newbies will tend to play the more established players in all categories.
He highlighted the strategic role the LSC as a competition has played in preparing some of the players who will represent the country at the Africa Scrabble Championship (ASC) in Zambia this month.
In the same vein, NSF Players Representative, Segun Durojaiye said the tournament’s role in the development of players cannot be over emphasised.
He observed that the open status of the tournament has been a training ground for the younger ones as well as those who have been out of the circuit for sometime to get back in the game including students who have been at home due to the prolonged strike by the Association Staff Union of University (ASUU) to get involved after studying for a long period of time.
He added that high number of entries in Lagos as well as the plenty players who registered for the Abuja National Opens which was held simultaneously, signified that the growth of the sports was not abating.
Both tournaments served as testing grounds for some of the players who will be in Lagos for Finale Matchday of the Mindgames Scrabble Premier League and the Patrons Cup.
The Lekki Scrabble Classics had players from different clubs from Lagos, Ogun, Osun, Oyo, Ondo, Delta and Niger States who participated at the successful event.
Pastor Enoch A. Adeboye, the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) has unveiled a full-size stadium and an Olympic-size 50-metre swimming pool at the Peaceville International Academy, located within the Redemption City of God, Ogun State.
The esteemed cleric was accompanied by his wife, Pastor Folu Adeboye, along with top church leaders including Pastor Joseph Obayemi; RCCG National Overseer, Pastor Sunday Akande, and the management of Peaceville International Academy led by Head of School Dolapo Fatoki.
The event was graced by several board members of the school, including Leke Adeoye, Olugbenga Omojola, Ayoola Jolayemi, Noah Osato, and Mrs Busola Ogunsiji.
Reflecting on his past, Pastor Adeboye lamented the lack of such facilities during his university days and the general scarcity of quality sports amenities across the country.
“This kind of well-grassed stadium and serene environment were not available in universities during our time. Remarkably, God has made this possible in a secondary school, showing that He is on our side,” he remarked.
He offered prayers for those who contributed to the realization of these facilities and expressed his vision for the school to become a global brand.
In her welcome address, Pastor Mrs. Adeboye, the founder of the college, described the institution as a legacy made possible by God’s support.
She thanked her husband for his unwavering support in making the school a reality and emphasized the importance of the sports facilities in moulding Godly champions.
The unveiling ceremony also featured a novelty match to celebrate Pastor Adeboye’s 83rd birthday, with him performing the ceremonial kick-off for the match between Redemption City FC and Region 1 FC. The home team triumphed with a 4-0 victory.
Head of School Dolapo Fatoki highlighted that the facilities would be judiciously used to enhance the physical well-being of students and position the school as a hub for sports development in Ogun State and Nigeria.
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Championship promotion chasers Burnley clocked up 1,000 minutes without conceding a league goal as they drew 0-0 at Preston North End on Saturday to stay third in the table.
It was Burnley’s 24th Championship clean sheet of the season and their 11th in a row — a new English second-tier record.
In 33 Championship games their miserly defence has been breached only nine times and no opposition player has scored against them in the league since Dec. 21.
Burnley keeper James Trafford has faced only 21 shots on target in achieving his 11 successive clean sheets — including two penalties which he saved against Sunderland.
Scott Parker’s side need just one more clean sheet to match the Championship record of Queen’s Park Rangers in 2010-11.
“It’s something we pride ourselves on. We’re proud of being hard to beat and if you can’t win games, don’t lose them,” Burnley midfielder Josh Cullen told the club’s website.
“We come away with a point thanks to that defensive record and being solid again here at a tough place.”
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A UK-based sports recycling charity, Lord’s Taverners has donated sports kits and equipment worth over 30 million naira to the CSED (Community Sport and Educational Development) Initiative.
The donated kits and equipment weighed 998 kilograms. It is not the first time such a donation was made.
It would be recalled that since 2019, this is the fifth batch of sports kit donations that Lord’s Taverners have donated to CSED Initiative.
In total, CSED Initiative has received sports kits weighing over three thousand kilogrammes from Lord’s Taverners.
Most of this batch of donated sports kit items are for cricket, netball, badminton, football, casual sportswear and tracksuits.
Some of the prominent institutions that have benefitted from the kits that were donated by Lord’s Taverners in the past are Edo State Cricket Association, the cricket team of ABU Zaria, the cricket team of IDPs Uhogua, Cameroonian refugees in Ogoja (Cross River State).
Furthermore, some selected schools in Delta, Edo, Akwa Ibom and Taraba States have benefitted from the free cricket kits that were donated by Lord’s Taverners to CSED Initiative.
In a recent email correspondence between a Trustee of CSED Initiative, a Project Manager of Lord’s Taverners, a representative of the Nigeria Cricket Federation (NCF) acknowledged the role the kits that Lord’s Taverners donated to CSED Initiative played in the development of some of the cricketers who recently played in the Nigerian female cricket team at the recently completed T20, U-19 Cricket World Cup in Malaysia.
Nine out of these fifteen cricketers are players from Edo State whose cricket Association received 250 kilogrammes of donated cricket kits from CSED Initiative in April 2019.
Furthermore, CSED has also donated cricket items to a cricket project that has supported the development of the two cricketers from Akwa Ibom State who featured for Nigeria in the Malaysian tournament.
During an interview with sports reporters, a representative of CSED Initiative stated that the new batch of donated equipment from Lord’s Taverners will enable them to empower three thousand children and youths in respect of supporting some of their basic sports kit needs. The donated kits will enable CSED Initiative to train three hundred P.E. Teachers in 2025. “So, it is going to be a win-win situation for grassroots sports.”
However, CSED Initiative have been informed that the Lord’s Taverners sports kits recycling project is going to close in March 2025, as a result of financial constraint. The National Coordinator of CSED Initiative stated that this news was a huge shock to them, and the sports recycling community all over the world.
Lord’s Taverners has a global base of sports for change NGOs that they have supported in the past few decades. Though Lord’s Taverners was mainly set up as a cricket charity, it has over the years supported other sports at the grassroots level.
“We in CSED Initiative will forever remain grateful for the support we have received from Lord’s Taverners. Especially in respect of the sport of netball.
They have supported us with balls, bibs, netball jerseys, T-shirts and skirts.
These donated netball kits gave us the courage to strive to revive the game of netball in Nigeria through our ongoing: “Project 2027” drive where we have trained and equipped more than three hundred and seventy P.E. Teachers and community leaders.”
While receiving the donated items in their Niger Delta base, the National Coordinator of CSED Initiative assured Dave Pemberton (Project Manager of Lord’s Taverners) that the sports kits will be distributed for free to selected schools and vulnerable community groups (IDPs and asylum seekers/refugees) they currently work with, as well as new sets of schools and communities who will be expected to put the donated kit into good use.
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