Lagos Athletics Association is pioneering the maiden edition of the athletics club series on February 19 at the Yaba College of Technology.
According to LASAA chairman Solomon Alao, the tournament is aimed at engaging the athletes with a bid to keep them in shape for major events.
“We want to keep the athletes busy in the best way possible and to make them competitive as well as provide an avenue where the young ones can compete with the best in the country,” Alao said.
“It’s to foster friendship, develop the spirit of competitiveness, and help put Lagos on the map once again as the centre for athletics development.”
Technical Director of LASAA, Enefiok Udo-Obong, said N10m would be competed for in four legs of the series.
“In total, athletes will compete in four legs and they will be aiming to share the N10m cash prize. It is the biggest rewarding competition in the history of athletics in Nigeria. The league format is innovative as it has never happened before and it is hoped that World Athletics would adopt a similar stance to make athletics a followable sport,” he said.
The Olympic Games gold medallist, however, said that the tournament was an open event, but added that participants must register with their clubs to take part in the competition.
“It is an open competition but you must register with a club to be part of the series. We are trying to develop a club system because they are the ones that develop the athletes. It is not only open for all athletes nationwide but the world over as we have some international clubs coming,” Udo-Obong added.
Apart from the main event, Alao said schools within Lagos would compete among themselves in the schools’ invitational to give the students the chance to showcase their talents and be discovered by top coaches.
The one-day championships will have athletes compete in 100m, 200m, 400m, 400m hurdles, 800m, 4X100m relay, and long-distance races like 1500m, 3000m, and 5000m.
Winners in each event will garner points, while the top 12 in each event will earn bonus points for their efforts.
