Abdurrahman Danladi, Chairman, Skaters Association of Nigeria, Bauchi State Chapter, says the state team won four medals at a skating competition in Kano in September.
Danladi disclosed this in an interview in Bauchi on Tuesday, saying the team had continued to represent Bauchi at various skating competitions across the country.
According to him, the team also won five medals at a recent competition in Taraba State.
Danladi said skating had contributed to the rehabilitation and empowerment of youths in the state.
“We have more than 1,000 skaters across the 20 Local Government Areas of the state, both male and female.
“The games we participate in include marathon, high jump, king jump, speed slalom, ramping and roller soccer.
“We won four medals in Kano and five medals in Taraba recently,” he said.
Speaking on the challenges facing the association, Danladi identified inadequate funding and the rising cost of kits and skating equipment as major concerns.
He said a pair of skating wheels cost about N200,000, making participation in competitions increasingly expensive for the athletes.
“We also need protective equipment such as helmets, knee and shoulder pads.
“We are faced with funding and kitting challenges.
“Our protective equipment and skating wheels are expensive.
“Although the state government has provided us with a head coach, we sometimes apply to the state for support whenever we have competitions, but what we receive does not cover the logistics.
“We mostly contribute our own resources to participate in competitions outside Bauchi because we want to ensure that the state comes out on top of the competition tables,” he said.
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