Four Things we will Learn this August

By Justin Ehiogu

Are Arts strong contenders in the Inter-Faculty Competitions? How much of an audience will the teams get? Will the Sport Director’s budget be approved in time? Can the 300-level football team go all the way? AFAS Press writer runs us through four things we should take note of this August.

August has come and the Inter-Faculty Competitions will soon be underway. We take a look at what we are likely to discover in the world of school sports this month.

Can Arts make a statement in the Inter-Faculty Competitions?

A slew of games constitute the Inter-Faculty Competitions, from tennis and football to badminton, hockey, basketball and judo. It is not clear yet how many games the Faculty of Arts will participate in; it is largely dependent, of course, on the students, on how many participants are available. But this month will reveal a lot in that regard; and more importantly, it will reveal the quality of Art’s sports teams, and give insight as to whether or not they’ll be able to contend for trophies across the board.

Take for instance the Arts football team—the football competition is set to kick off on the 8th, and Art’s first game is on the 9th, at the New Stadium, against the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine. The team has been putting in hours on the training ground, of course, and there are lots of positives; but will they be able to perform, with the weight of expectation on their shoulders after coming third last season? And are they strong contenders for the gold medal this time? We might not find out just yet, but August will certainly tell us a lot concerning it.

How many AFASites will watch the games?

There have always been observations about how many people go to the games and how many are uninterested in sports. There have also always been observations about whether or not the Faculty of Arts has huger turnouts than faculties like Tech, Sciences, Social Sciences and Education. It is really important to have a positive sporting spirit on campus and in the faculty.

A new sporting season is set to start, and AFASites are once more encouraged to turn out for the games. The first game for the faculty football team is on the 9th, and soon enough the fixtures for the other games will be revealed. We will learn just how participatory or otherwise the students will be.

Will the Sporting Director be able to provide the sporting necessities?

Not long ago it was mentioned on this column that one of the hurdles that Daniel Sikuade will face is to perform his duties whilst dragged down by an increasingly cumbersome, not to mention insidious, Faculty Legislative Council. Given the ongoing (and maybe not so new) tumultuous relationship of the execs with the FLC, will the Sporting Director’s budget be approved in time for him to do a good job?

It’s a troublesome situation that really needs rectifying. But as of yet, nothing has been done, and this month we shall learn just how much of an effect it will have.

Do we have a new campus champion in this 300-level football team of ours?

The 300-level football team has been at the top of its game so far in the UI 300L Champions Cup, in a group that contains the faculties of the Social Sciences, Technology and Education – an impressive display that began with the 5-1 battering of Tech.

Do they have the wherewithal to go all the way? Most certainly, some people might say. They have definitely shown much promise, but there are still difficult games ahead. The matches continue, and the farther they go the more challenging it will get. The knockout stages will prove a tougher hurdle to scale. We may not find out this month if they will win the trophy or not, but we will certainly find out what they are made of.