The diaspora based arm of the alumni association of St’ Charles School Ayepe, Osogbo, Osun state known as Charleans in Diaspora Incorporated are gearing up for the maiden edition of their sports festival which is being planned to come up in December 2019.
The sports project tagged ‘Diaspora Charleans Tennis Championship’ (DCTC-2019) is a high school tournament which will in the long run feature various racquet related sports like Table tennis, Badminton and Tennis.
Secondary school boys and girls within the state of Osun will compete among themselves, representing their various schools in each sport.
About sixteen secondary schools in Osun state have already been invited for the maiden edition which features only table tennis and will be hosted within the campus of St’ Charles High School Oshogbo, starting on the 4th of December and ending on the 5th.
When asked about their objectives for organizing this competition, the Diaspora Charleans said through their president Mr. Yemi Ajijolaiya that “Education, Arts and Sports remain a good combination that helps keep our youths away from crime and other negative vices that distract young people and it is part of their responsibilities as “veteran Charleans” to ensure viable platforms are created for the young ones to express themselves in those other activities outside their core academic pursuits.
“Besides that, excellent performance in extra-curricular activities like these sometimes make school fun for students who aren’t seen as being academically bright, and some who are financially disadvantaged, thus offering them a bait to remain in school rather than giving up on education”.
Old and prestigious secondary schools in Nigeria are fast losing their place due to poor infrastructures and the fall in the general standards of education in our public schools, except for few who have vibrant alumni associations like the Charleans in Diaspora Incorporated whose activities keep those institutions alive.
A business development and experiential marketing firm O’range Development Consult is powering the event.
The firm being led by Taiwo Akintoye is bringing in their wealth of experience managing entertainment, sports and brand events over the years into this project, providing the creative touch needed to design, manage and market the event within the corporate sector.
The CSR values of this project is currently yielding support from companies like Sumal Foods, Fan Milk Plc, GS Farms Limited, Ranona Limited – makers of Fresh Yo, Dufil Prima – makers of Indomie Noodles, Omoluabi Holdings who produces Essence Table water among many others including media organizations such as Rave 97.1FM Osogbo, Osun State Broadcasting Corporation (OSBC) and the Sport Writers Association of Nigeria (SWAN) Osun Chapter who have also offered their support.
Among other various technical partners, the project has been endorsed by the Osun State Government through the Ministry of Youth and Sports under the leadership of the Honorable Commissioner Mr. Yemi Lawal who will be actively involved in ensuring its success.
The president of the Charleans in Diaspora Incorporated also said; “let’s just see this as our contribution to promoting schools sports in Nigeria and it’ll be amazing if young talents are discovered for the country through this competition”.
He also said, “This will be an annual event, but we’re starting small this year with just table tennis hoping to grow bigger in future editions”.
Though Diaspora Charleans have organized some competitions in the past such as debates and science quiz competitions, this is the first time a sport contest of this kind will be organized by any secondary school alumni association in Osun state.
