Sports
IN what seems like a humble beginning for Junior Cadet Golf Championships, the organisers of Awa Ibrahim Junior Golf Championships announced the recognition of the event as world ranking.
The Director, Women and Youth and Youth Development, Nigeria Golf Federation (NGF), Emmy Ekong, made the disclosure in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Monday.
Ekong said that the World Body for Golf Royal and Ancient (R&A), Scotland, awarded the championships world ranking tournament after the organisers applied for it.
She noted that the nod for the world ranking event was unprecedented given that the cadet championships was barely six years-old but was able to adhere strictly to standards.
NAN reports that the Awa Ibrahim Junior Championships is an age-grade golf championships for young ones between the ages of 9, 10-12, 13-15 and 16-17 categories for boys and girls.
The Ikeja Golf Club has been the host of the junior cadet championships for the six consecutive years and sponsored by a golf enthusiast, Awa Ibrahim, who is now the president of the club.
Ekong told NAN that the recognition by R&A, Scotland was a testament of the organisers of the tournament’s resilience and standard set.
“This is the sixth year after five years and we feel that it is good and that we can register it as a world ranking tournament because of the successes achieved within the short period.
“We also looked at the consistency considering the economic situation of the country, noting that some of the paired competitions cannot be sustained, but we are able to sustain ours.
“We realised that we are mature enough to register Awa Ibrahim Junior Golf Championships as a world ranking event which we did and we are so recognised.
“It is a good thing that we are recognised internationally and I am sure that with this feat, others will follow because the recognition has shown that we are not just growing, we are improving as well,’’ she said.
Ekong said that the tournament was unique given its double cap responsibilities of sporting benefits and educational benefits.
“We have a unique championship because of what the competition stands for which is golf and education. The sponsor gives educational scholarships to the winners, so it is worth world ranking status.
“I am happy that we got to this stage of recognition from R&A. This feat has been the efforts of all the stakeholders, the Professional Golf of Nigeria (PGN) and Ladies Golf Association of Nigeria (LGAN).
“The victory is for all the stakeholders because we decided that the competition won’t be an open one but based on the National Order of Merit (NOM).
“To qualify, the participants must have garnered some points from NOM criteria for participation and now, they can add the world ranking to their status,’’ she said. (NAN)
– Oct 21, 2019 @ 15:15 GMT |
Tags: Awa Ibrahim Junior Golf Championships gets world ranking status — Organisers
