NIPSA-UNILAG Sports Week 2024: Funke's Review
Cheerleaders, sponsors, team bonding, and an upcoming closing ceremony: Funke unpacks her favourite parts of the ongoing Sports Week. By Adesegun Adefunke
This letter is partly sponsored by:
As I stepped onto the College of Medicine's shores, I lost interest in anything relatively sporty. After all, all pre-med and medical students know are books, books, and more books.
Well, I've learned that books alone are far from what we need, especially with the rise of sporting events in the Department of Pharmacology. 2023's Sports Week was terrific, and this year, the office of the Sports Secretary raised the bar. So tag along as we review some of this season's sporting events and how they reflect on APSULites.
A Welcome Addition to the Sports Week: Cheerleading
When I heard that the opening ceremony would feature cheerleading from PANDORA and FEARLESS, I was curious how the sports committee would pull it off. But to the pleasure of all APSULites, it exceeded expectations. I mean, cheerleading? Who knew we had such brilliant cheer teams within us? I sure didn't.
Nevertheless, this new addition is welcome, and I hope to see it more in the coming years.
Enthusiasm Across Classes
The weeks leading up to sports week were riddled with smashing publicity, so much so that the enthusiasm could be felt across all classes. I, for one, enjoyed the banter leading up to the week because it just showed how invested APSULites were in this, a sight that isn't as common as one would think.
And if you thought the banter before the week was something, imagine what the banter during the week felt like. Players, cheerleaders, and supporting classmates could feel the heat from every game, and I was not excluded.
Team Building and Bonding
It might have been a minute factor, but one notable aspect of the Sports Week is the collaboration and bonding it has bred. APSULites who typically wouldn't participate in sporting activities were able to join teams and create new bonds. Some just did it for the plot.
If you weren't on a team, you'd join your classmates to cheer for those who were. Ultimately, that's what support is, and we saw a lot of it this season.
An Overall Rating for the NIPSA-UNILAG Sports Week
From where I stand, this will be a 50/50 for me—partly because my class is currently being dragged through the mud. But amidst the losses and wins, I can say that this sports week was quite successful, even though it's not over yet.
From the whispers I hear, there will be a closing ceremony, similar to the opening ceremony, which would be merged with the medal-awarding event. If you can't tell, I'm a little over-excited about that because it's supposed to crown the entire sports week, so I can't wait to see how that goes.
Of all the sections of this sports week season, cheerleading has got to be my favourite part. It's good to see that something so unheard of, especially for our "small" department, was executed beautifully—big ups to both the cheerleading teams for the PANDORA and FEARLESS classes.
Of course, we must acknowledge our Sports Secretary, Teniola, and our sponsors, who helped us make this Sports Week a success.
Until next time!
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