Students to over flood Manjasi High for championships

By Aloysius Byamukama

THE ministry of Education and Sports has made changes in the 2012 national schools’ sports calendar merging four different disciplines whose championships will be hosted at the same venue.

Netball, Handball, Volleyball and Basketball national championships have been merged and will be hosted between April and May at Manjasi High School in Tororo.

The calendar was unveiled to schools head teachers at Kitante Hill School in Kampala on Wednesday.

This will be the third time more than three secondary schools’ sports disciplines that attract over 1000 participants in a discipline are merged together for the national championships at the same venue.

“It will not be possible for all these students and remember it’s for both boys and girls to be controlled for a week,” lamented one games teacher.

Participants too many for Manjasi

For the four disciplines to be merged, it will need more than three other schools of Manjasi size for successful games.

For Basketball alone, about 1000 participants (both boys and girls) from 80 schools take part. Netball and Volleyball also have more than 600. Handball remains the smallest of the three.

The head teachers argued that it may prove futile for this big population of students of two sexes to stay at the same venue for the weeklong championships.       

Basketball losing sponsorship

Basketball as a discipline looks the biggest loser in the merger. For the last two years, National Schools Basketball Championships have been held separately at an independent venue.

And in fact the local schools’ basketball governing body had secured sponsorship starting with last year’s edition at St. Mary’s College Kisubi.

The sponsors had renewed their contract which now falls in disarray in case the merger goes on.