Standard Facilities and Equipment as Determinants of High Sports Performance of Cross River State at National Sports Festival

Abstract

This study investigates standard facilities and equipment as determinants of high sport performance of Cross River State at National sports festival. The study adopted the descriptive survey research design which includes the Causal-comparative (Ex-post-Facto) method of research. The study population consists of 344 sports personnel and athletes drawn from the sample made up of the state’s sports director and his deputy, coaches, organizers, sport commentators/writers and athletes adopting the multi-stage and stratified random sampling technique. The questionnaire was the instrument used to elicit information from 344 sports personnel and athletes, out of which 270 (78.5%) copies of the questionnaire were duly completed and returned. The data collected were analyzed using frequency count, percentage and chi-square (x²) analysis tested at 0.05 level of significance with the aid of SPSS Version 21. The findings show that sports like athletics, tennis, table tennis, marathon, squash, and swimming have adequate facilities in the state. Sports like judo, boxing, wrestling and weight lifting have adequate facilities only at state headquarters while facilities for taekwondo, volleyball, cricket, badminton, handball, cycling, hockey and basketball are inadequate at both levels. The quality of equipment in Cross River State sports as reveal by the study was very low. Inadequate facilities in the state made significant influence on the performance of Cross River State. Also, inadequate equipment in the state made significant influence on the performance of Cross River State athletes both at National Sports Festivals.