The Sports Directorate of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi (KNUST) has organised a Vice-Chancellor’s Athletics Championship to provide students with an opportunity to showcase their talents and identify athletes for upcoming inter-university competitions.
Director of Sports, Dr Timothy Kwabena Mensah, said the championship formed part of efforts to select athletes to represent the University at major competitions, including the upcoming West African Universities competition in October and the Ghana Universities Sports Association (GUSA) Games scheduled for January.
“We have pinned down athletes already, but we want them to justify, to see whether we should still carry them along,” Dr Mensah said.
He added that the championship also provided an opportunity to assess first-year students and identify emerging talents for the University’s athletics team.
Unlike the annual inter-college athletics competition, Dr Mensah said the championship was open to all KNUST students interested in athletics.
“It is an open championship. Anybody can participate. Once we open it up, we advertise for people to come and participate,” he said.
For the student-athletes, the championship provided an opportunity to compete despite being in the off-season.
A second-year student, Jennifer Oppong, said she had not expected much from her performance due to an injury but was pleased with the outcome.
“I wasn’t expecting much due to my injury, but at last it came out successfully. All I can say is it went well,” she said.
Another participant, Maxwell Anane Asamoah, said the championship provided student-athletes with an opportunity to improve their skills and gain valuable competitive experience.
“I love participating because it’s a really good competition and it helps me, the student-athletes, to improve very much,” he said.
Haruna Bawumia Fahad noted that several established athletes were managing injuries and had not undertaken extensive track training because of the off-season. He said, however, that their participation in multiple events allowed the Directorate to assess their readiness and potential.
For first-year student Otiwaa Florence, participating in the championship offered an opportunity to take part in competitive athletics as a KNUST student, with the University’s hosting of the event encouraging students to participate.
Story: Belinda Opoku Danso Photos: Isaac Kwaku Duah
