No fewer than 31 prospective Nigerian umpires have graduated from the ITF National Officiating School held in Abuja, Nigeria’s federal capital.
The four-day event which ended with an examination and award of certificates to the students who attended the school is an ITF-certified event which was also sanctioned by the Nigeria Tennis Federation.
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Renowned umpires, Saidu Musa and Kehinde Ijaola were the instructors at the training which was dominated by ladies.
In separate chats with Nigeria Tennis Live, some of the students spoke about the instructors and if they got value for their money during the duration of the training.
Oluwayomi Oladeji who was the best graduating student after scoring 47/50 in the final exam, noted that the trainings were in-depth.
“For me, I believe it was good value for money, especially because the instructors also took their time with us.
“Eventually, I want to make a career out of officiating since I cannot play the game as a professional athlete”.
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Another student confessed that they were surprised by how well they were fed during the training as they were not expecting any such thing.
“We did not expect the feeding, of all things here. Even when we attended the coaching school, we didn’t get up to what we got here.
“In terms of the classes, the value was more than the money we paid, from the teaching to the practical and all.
“And for me, I can say that I learnt a lot more than I thought I would learn from my first ever officiating school attendance, this is something I’m personally happy about,” Odeyemi Ramota Odunayo told Nigeria Tennis Live.
The excited umpires have now been officially introduced to the world of officiating after their final exams and issuance of certificates at the high performance centre in Abuja, Nigeria’s federal capital.