Busia County to host next NOC-K water sports competition

The National Olympic Committee of Kenya (NOC-K) is set to host a water sports competition along Lake Victoria in Busia County on a date to be announced soon.

This was disclosed by the NOC-K Secretary General, Francis Mutuku, following a courtesy call on Busia County Governor Dr. Paul Otuoma, where NOC-K welcomed the vision to play an active role under the national Blue Economy drive.

“We recently had a successful inaugural Beach Games in Kilifi County, where over 700 athletes converged for a conventional and cultural beach sports event festival.

“The event inspired us to further these sports that combine the informality and vibrancy of beaches along oceans, seas, lakes, and even rivers to attract a youthful and engaging audience. This is a value-add to the national blue economy exploitation objective”, noted Mutuku.

The upcoming water sports competition in western Kenya continues NOC-K’s ongoing strategy to build and entrench beneficial collaborations with counties to benefit athletes’ development and success.

The drive to expand into beach and water sports aligns with international trends, where the Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC) at the global level and Africa’s ANOCA will be hosting their second edition of the Beach Games in Hammamet, Tunisia, and Bali, Indonesia, in June and August this year, respectively.

Busia County Governor, Dr. Otuoma, lauded NOC-K for considering his county for water sports and the opportunity to showcase its hospitality industry, besides gaining knowledge and transferring it to the grassroots through such collaborations.

He observed that athletes from the grassroots will be inspired to pursue their dreams at the hallmark level of the Olympics

The Busia edition of the water-based competition will feature water sports events, effectively integrating the local community events, including open water swimming, boat racing, hill or mountain climbing, and volleyball.

Demonstration events include boxing and judo, while competitive events will feature aquathlon, 3x3 basketball, and rowing.

This follows a technical assessment of the venues, where the water level was noted to have risen substantially following the heavy rains covering the target beach venues.