GUSA Games
Swimming at UG was only seen as fun and for leisure but grappled in its quest to gain competitive edge until 2008 when UG hosted the West Africa University Games (WAUG) which converge over 50 universities across Africa on the UG campus. During this period all swimming competition was held at the Lincoln Community School in Accra.
In 2010, the UG swimming pool was officially commissioned for use and this gave a new face to swimming. Forthwith swimming became part of the UG Inter-Hall Games and gradually won the heart of most students. In 2012, the UG Swim Team participated and won 11 medals (6 silver and 5 bronze medals) in the WUAG hosted by University of Ilorin in Nigeria.
Prior to 2007 the Ghana Rugby Union has promoted the Rugby Sport on the University of Ghana campus with the hope of creating the interest among students and further drafting more students into the Rugby Game. These efforts paid off and subsequently ensued in introducing Men’s and Women’s Rugby into the UG Inter-Hall Games in 2007 and 2013 respectively. Undoubtedly, the game gained momentum and was not only recognized by the Ghana Rugby Union Association but also the Confederation of African Rugby. UG Rugby team has since then participated in both 2010 and 2011 Rugby Sevens International competition hosted by University of Casablanca, Morocco. Nationally UG Rugby Team has also participated in the 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013 Ghana National Rugby Sevens championship and placed 1st, 2nd, 4th and 5thposition respectively. For some students they see Rugby as a means to express their sporting abilities.
Goalball is a team sports designed specifically for blind athletes, originally devised in 1946 by the AustrianHans Lorenzen and German Sepp Reindle, in an effort to rehabilitate visually impaired veterans who returned from the World War II.
The Goalball game was introduce by the UG Sports Directorate in the 2009 as a way of providing the platform for to experience social and sporting inclusion irrespective of barriers due to physical or visual impairments.
Participants compete in teams of three, and try to throw a ball that has bells embedded in it into the opponents’ goal.Teams alternate throwing or rolling the ball from one end of the playing area to the other, and players remain in the area of their own goal in both defense and attack. Players must use the sound of the bell to judge the position and movement of the ball. Games consist of two 12-minute halves (formerly 10-minute halves).
Eyeshades/Blindfolds allow partially sighted players to compete on an equal footing with blind players. Eye patches may be worn under eyeshades to ensure complete coverage of the eye, and prevent any vision should the eyeshades become dislodged.
(Visit http://www.paralympic.org/goalball for more Goalball details)
Background
Dating back to the commencement of the Bilateral Relationship between University of Ghana and University of Ibadan, Nigeria; Debate and Sports were the two components that survived to date. Thus in 2005 the UG Sports Directorate officially took oversight responsibility of all debate. In 2009 Debate was integrated into the Inter-Hall Games since 2009. Student Debaters at the UG Sports Directorate have the same privilege as Student Athletes.
University of Ghana Debate Society in Perspective
The University of Ghana Debate Society comprises of students of the university who share a common passion in debating and public speaking. The aim of the society is to promote the use of debate and dialogue as a tool for finding solutions to critical issues facing the society and to promote civil participation in our respective communities. In order to ensure efficiency and sustainability of our activities, UGDS was placed under the direct supervision of the University of Ghana (UG) Sports Directorate. For the past five (5) years, the Sports Directorate has supported and continues to support and facilitate intellectual discourses among students of the university.
In a short time, UGDS has built a reputation in the university, across the country and beyond. Since 2012, the society has been in the finals of all national debate championships, placing 2nd in 2012, and winning in 2013 and 2014. Members of the society have also won various individual awards in debate, adjudication and public speaking. On the international front, UGDS has represented the University in the annual Pan-African Universities Debate Championship since 2012 and its members have won many individual awards for the university. The society represented the university for the first time in the World Universities Debate Championship which was held in Malaysia from 27th December, 2014 to 4th January, 2015. In December 2015, the UG Debate Society, under the auspices of the UG Sports Directorate and in partnership with African Heights Foundation and other partners, hosted the 8th edition of the Pan-African Universities Debate Championship, dubbed LEGON 2015, where its members performed exceptionally, reach as far as the semifinal of the competition.
The Debate Society also organizes tournaments and events within the university. In 2014, the society instituted two notable annual debate championships within the university. They are the UG Freshmen Debate Championship, which targets the freshmen of the university and other students who do not have any prior experience in the British Parliamentary Style of Debate (which is the internationally accepted style of debate for tertiary institutions), and the most prestigious Vice-Chancellor’s Debate Championship which gives members the platform to discuss pertinent issues in relation to the university, the country, the African continent and beyond. The Society instituted the Accra Open Debate Championship which is open to debaters across the country and beyond. With these championships, there is an aspect known as public speaking where participants speak on topics ranging from international to personal issues. The society also partnered various organizations such as the UG Student Representativ Council (SRC), UG Junior Common Rooms (JCRs) and Civil Society Organizations to organize public debates on campus. Some of our members do occupy leadership positions in various aspects and on different levels on campus.
As part of its social responsibility, the debate society has instituted a senior high schools debate programme dubbed “Debate Aboki”, through which volunteers are sent to various high schools in Accra to train students in debate, critical analysis and argumentation.
Join us each and every Monday and Friday at 8pm at Alex Kwapong Hall Room 4001.
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In 2005 Cricket was introduced as part of University of Ghana and University of Ibadan Bilateral Games. After the Bilateral Games, the team continued to train and engages in friendly games with Achimota Senior High School, Ghana International School, Obuasi Gold and Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST). Since 2006 Cricket has been part of the Inter-Games. Philip Debbrah who captained the University of Ghana Cricket Team from 2007 to 2009 was called to the Ghana Youth Cricket Team that participated in the African Youth Cricket Champioship in South Africa.
The renascence of Chess began during Bilateral Games with the University of Ibadan in the year 2000 where some students who had shown interest in the Chess game were selected to compete. The game has since then evolved and was first introduced as full fledge discipline in the 2010 Inter-Hall Games. Many students have benefitted from Chess and recently Philip Elikem Ameku and Elikem Attah is now the current Vice President and Secretary of the Ghana Chess Association.
The baseball game started in 2008 and has since been part of the yearly Inter-Hall Game organized by the UG Sports Directorate. Hitherto, the number of participation increased and has captured attention of many talented student athletes. The serene environment on campus makes Baseball a soothing game to play and watch.
A year of continuous improvement‐ this statement can be used to describe all aspects of University of Ghana Basketball these past few years. Through the efforts of the coaches and management, both male and female teams grew; as individuals, basketball players, and as team members.
The University of Ghana, in the year 2010, hosted the Ghana Universities Sports Association (GUSA) games, where the Men’s basketball team emerged Champions, winning gold laurels with a 4-0 record. The girl’s team was unable to defend their championship trophy, winning bronze laurels after a one possession game loss to the champions.
In the year 2012, the men’s basketball team defended their championship trophy, thrashing host school Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) in a blowout game in the finals of the Ghana Universities Sports Association (GUSA Games 2012). The team had an unbeaten run in the tourney, setting the record for first school to win GUSA Basketball championship in two consecutive years without a loss. The girl’s team that year improved on the results of their predecessors, making it all the way to the finals and won silver laurels.
We have received feedback from other institutions and stakeholders that our teams continue to be gracious in defeat and humble in victory. Feedback like this instills a long‐standing reputation for the University. To buttress this, in June 2013, the Ghana Basketball Association (GBBA) had their maiden basketball awards night and awarded the University of Ghana as the
Best School in the Nation, with a few of team members in individual awards categories.
Our basketball teams have demonstrated the skills and commitment to continuous improvement which will keep our basketball program competitive in the nation for many years to come.
Looking forward, our program has tremendous potential for continued success.
Volleyball is one of the popular sports that has large following among the University community. The game started in the University way back in the era of the introduction of Sports and recreation. The University of Ghana volleyball team has participated in various competitions over the years and has chopped commendable successes.
Among the competitions competed in are the Ghana University Sports Association Games (GUSA), West African University Games (WAUG) and Bi lateral Games with the University of Ibadan, to mention but a few.
In the 22nd GUSA Games hosted by the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), the team had Silver in both male and female categories. At the 2012 Bilateral games held at the University of Ibadan – Nigeria with the return leg at the University of Ghana, the female volleyball team showed supremacy. Also in the 2010 WAUG Mini Handball/Volleyball Championship held at the Cape Coast University, both the male and the female teams won bronze respectively. These records show the strength and the pedigree of the volleyball teams.
The teams practice all year round apart from examinations periods and vacations. The practice periods are 6:00am to 7:30am and 4:00pm to 7:00pm each day on the volleyball court at the University of Ghana adjacent the Legon main Hall.
Currently, the teams are preparing seriously towards the 23rd GUSA Games to be hosted by the University of Cape Coast in June, 2014.
The Female Team led by Abigail Opoku Mensah won both 2012 and 2010 GUSA Games held in Kumasi and Legon respectively. The male team, after the departure of Mensford Owusu continues to find ways to overcome the current GUSA Champions University of Education, Winneba (UEW) who continues to dominate the Tennis competition.