The organizers of the Rock Tennis Foundation Tennis Clinic/Tournament have given important updates ahead of the competition.
Nigeria Tennis Live had reported that the competition, billed to serve off in Ogun State, on Tuesday, 2 January, 2024, will feature some of the best talents in Nigeria.
Mr. Kehinde Ijaola, the coordinator of the competition, had noted that players from within and outside the State had indicated interest in participating in the week-long event to launch into the new year.
And as at the time of filing this report, about six States had confirmed their participation in the Rock Tennis Foundation competition for three age categories.
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In a brief chat with Nigeria Tennis Live, Mr. Ijaola said: “So far, we have interests from Kwara, Ekiti, Ondo, Lagos, Oyo, Ogun, that should be six States. About two-three States have written me to tell me they won’t be able to make it due to financial constraints.
“Like I told you earlier, the programme is starting on the 2nd of January in the morning. We are expecting people to converge as early as 8 o’clock in the morning.
“We are going to start with the registration of the players, and we are going to have coaching education for one or two hours, then we will have officiating refresher courses for our officials that are here.
“And seeing that I am a prominent person when it comes to officiating, I want to see the standard of officiating improve better than that of last year”.
He also gave more details about the clinic and the tournament. He said: “We are expecting the States to arrive on the 2nd while the tournament will officially start on the 3rd of January.
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“So, 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th are for the competition, arrival is just on the 2nd for the States that are coming. We are going to give them accommodation and feeding.
“The draw sizes will be 16 for the categories of 12, 14 and 16; male and female. U-12 may not be full draws, but 14 and 16 will be. U-16 is nationals, while 12 & 14 are for our players in Ogun State.
“We are already on ground here and the stage is set”.
Nigeria Tennis Live will be live on ground for the coverage of the competition which is billed to hold at the Abeokuta Sports Club, Abeokuta, Ogun State