Gymnastics in Nigeria 2023

by site editor Rick McCharles

Fast Forward

Uche Eke was the first gymnast to represent Nigeria at the Olympics.

He won’t be the last.

Uche is from Maryland, competed for Michigan. But he traveled to Nigeria twice a year from a young age and took part in domestic competitions.

Now retired, Nigeria is looking for the next Uche Eke. And the next Simone Biles. 😀

Following Worlds Antwerp I flew to Benin City, Nigeria to lead an FIG WAG / MAG Artistic Age Group Camp.

I’ve led many of these camps in developing nations around the world. Nigeria was the best organized, so far.

This is a group of coaches with mixed resources.  Training from 6 – 24 hours / week maximum. 

I wanted to challenge the top coaches while not intimidating those with few hours, limited set-up, take-down equipment. 

The 3-year-old Gym at Ogbemudia stadium is the best in the nation.

Click PLAY or watch get a glimpse on YouTube. Indoor drone footage. Very cool.

In fact, the main factor holding back Nigeria is lack of training facilities.

Entrepreneurs have not yet opened many private gyms in Nigeria the way they have in Egypt and other developing nations. 

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Course Content

As many of the top coaches had done the Age Group Camp with me previously, I reviewed all sections having them practice on samples of the Physical, Technical, and Competition Routines.

A HUGE improvement from before the pandemic is having the Age Group PDF documents linked to YouTube.  All coaches were quickly comfortable finding and working with the FIG videos from the PDF.  

Next we looked at best practice introducing BASICS to beginners. The Age Group program offers everything you need from pre-competitive up to FIG Junior.

Fast Forward

Nigeria plans to compete at World Cup competitions in 2024.  

Their top male gymnasts are world class on Floor and Vault.

My thanks to Hardy Fink, the mastermind behind the FIG Age Group program in all disciplines.

This content is a terrific resource and FREE to every coach online.

Check out the FIG Age Group program. Download the PDFs in English, Français, or Español.