By Philip Tengzu
Nadowli, (UW/R), Nov. 15, GNA – The Upper West Regional Volleyball Association, has commended the Azumah Resources Ghana Limited for its efforts in developing talents of the youth in the area through its annual tournament.
Azumah Resources Ghana Ltd, a mining company in the region, has been organising volleyball competitions between teams for the past four years, as part of its corporate social Responsibilities (CSR).
DOII Mr Timothy Ayireke, the Upper West Regional Chairman of the Volleyball Association, said through the annual tournament all the clubs in the region put up their best in preparation, which contributed to unearthing and developing new talents and skills in the region.
He was speaking at the closing of the 4th edition of the Azumah Resources Ghana Ltd Annual Volleyball Tournament held at Nadowli, which had eight teams across the region participating.
They were: Spring Fingers in Nadowli; Infinite Mercies in Lawra; Mighty Fingers in Wa, The Hoppers in Jirapa; City Stars in Wa; Lambussie Town team in Lambussie; Supreme Fingers in Wa and Mighty Hands in Nandom.
City Stars emerged winner and was given a trophy, gold medals, a certificate and GHȻ1000.00, while the defending champions, Spring Fingers came second and also took away silver medals, a certificate and GHȻ500.00 cash.
Supreme Fingers came third in the tournament and was given a certificate and bronze medals while the Mighty Hands of Nandom had the fourth position.
“Azuma Resources is doing great things for volleyball in the region in the sense that there are a lot of sporting activities, but they decided to go in for volleyball which we are grateful for,” Mr Ayireke said.
He pleaded with Azumah Resources to also involve females in the volleyball games to whip up their interest to participate in the volleyball discipline.
“Volleyball is very good and lucrative. Now the forces are looking for volleyball players and teams are looking for volleyball players,” he observed.
Mr Solomon Dery, the Senior Community Relations Officer of Azumah Resources Ghana Ltd, explained that the initiative formed part of their efforts to maintain cordial relations with the stakeholders and the communities they worked in.
He expressed hope that their annual volleyball event would also help develop the young talents in volleyball geared towards building a formidable volleyball team for the region.
“We are developing volleyball in the region because it is not so common here, you just see a few people playing volleyball.
We want to whip up that interest of the youth in playing volleyball so that we can develop it to the level that it can be compared to the national level,” Mr Dery explained.
Mr Godwin Kwesi Awuye, the Coach for the City Stars, expressed excitement about the win saying, “I am not going to relax, we are going to train harder to come back next year.”
Mr Moses Sumbobo, the Coach for Spring Fingers, said God had decided the winner but added that they will put in efforts to reclaim the title next year.
All participating teams including the Queen of Peace Senior High and St. Augustine’s Senior High Technical Schools teams that took part received certificates of participation.
GNA