NAIROBI, Kenya, May 31 – Busia County will host the next leg of the national beach games on a yet-to-be-announced date.
Making the announcement, National Olympics Committee of Kenya (NOCK) secretary general Francis Mutuku said they were inspired by the success of the first leg of the games, held in Kilifi in March this year.
“We had a successful inaugural Beach Games recently in Kilifi County, where over 700 athletes converged for a festival of conventional and cultural beach sports events. The event gave us a major inspiration to further these sports that combine the informality and vibrancy of beaches along oceans, seas, lakes and, even rivers to attract a very youthful and engaging audience. This is a value-add to the national Blue Economy exploitation objective,” Mutuku said.
The games, held at Buntwani Beach in Malindi attracted an array of sports disciplines including Taekwondo, Sprint Rowing, Individual Kata/Karate, Boxing, Dhow Racing, Aquathlon, Judo, Ajua, 3X3 Basketball to Surfing.
The second edition of the national beach games comes on the heels of next month’s second edition of the Africa Beach Games in Hammamet, Tunisia as well as the global showpiece in Bali, Indonesia in August.
Mutuku further revealed that the Busia edition will feature a significant number of water sports as well as locally-invented games to add a unique element to the competition.
Speaking during Mutuku’s announcement, Busia governor Paul Otuoma lauded the idea of the beach games, noting that the competition will help unearth and develop talent at the grassroots.
“It is an opportunity to showcase our advanced hospitality industry besides gaining from the knowledge transfer to the grassroots through such collaborations. Athletes from the grassroots will be inspired to pursue their dreams to the hallmark of the Olympic games,” Otuoma said.
List of sports disciplines at Busia Beach Games
Local events
· Open Water swimming
· Boat racing
· Hill/Mountain Climbing
· Volleyball
Demonstration events
· Boxing
· Judo
Competitive Events
· Aquathlon
· Rowing
· 3X3 Basketball
