HISTORY OF GYMNASTICS IN NIGERIA
Origins in Traditional Culture Gymnastics in Nigeria is as old as our culture. In different parts of the country, acrobatic gymnastics has been practiced day in, day out, but it is more prominent in the former Mid-Western and Western regions, as well as the Eastern part of Nigeria. In these areas, gymnastics is incorporated into traditional dances, especially the igbabonelimi of the Ishans in Edo State. The 1974 Chinese Exchange Programme Competitive, structured gymnastics did not begin in Nigeria until 1974, when Chinese coaches were invited by the federal government on an exchange programme through the then National Sports Commission, under Major-General Henry Adefowope (rtd.). Sometime in September 1974, the Chinese coaches visited a number of primary and secondary schools in Lagos State to scout for talented, able-bodied students between the ages of 9 and 12. About two hundred students were selected from the schools visited and were assembled at the indoor sports hall of th...