The Uganda Athletics Federation (UAF) has come out with a strategy of re-igniting athletics talent identification and development across the entire country.

The sport that had stars coming from almost all over the country at least in the early 70s and 80s, has today become concentrated in the Sebei sub-region, where all the current national heroes hail from.

In a bid to arouse countrywide athletics development, UAF has come out with holiday camps in every region of the country to reset talent search.

While Central and Eastern are regions known for producing sprinters, South Western region has a history of producing both middle and long-distance runners and the regional athletics camps have been set up accordingly.

According to Charles Karuma, the UAF mapping has a western region incorporating the districts of Buhweju, Mbarara, Ntungamo, Kisoro, Kabale, Rubanda, Rukiga, and Rukungiri, whose camp has been set up at Kabale Trinity College in Kabale Municipality.

It is here that a total of 30 athletes including 13 female and 17 male, are being handled by national team coaches Gordon Ahimbisibwe and Michael Byomuhangi, coordinated by Kabale district UAF delegate Charles Karuma.

Who is the target category?

The mention of athletics and the Kigezi sub-region will arouse memories of star athletes' names most decorated 400m Peter Rwamuhanda (RIP) whose 1982 Commonwealth silver has remained a worthy reference.

Marathoner Vincent Ruguuga (RIP) and other long-distance runners Moses Twesigomwe, Boaz Matsiko, one Karokora and Tumwebaze (RIP), and steeple Chaser Naris Bigingo whose national standing record was only recently broken by departed Benjamin Kiplangat who was recently murdered in Kenya, remain on the lips of Kigezi athletics speakers.

It is from this background that a motion was moved and unanimously supported during the UAF annual general meeting last year that regional camps be held in different regions of sound athletics history to identify the young and promising for purposeful follow-up.

The Kabale camp in Kigezi is therefore a deliberate project of UAF that is targeting promising young ones from as low as primary schools to enable them to reach the heights their predecessors reached.

The Kabale camp includes among others, three 12-year promising long-distance runners Angela Atusaasiibwe from Kanungu district, Promise Nasaasira from Rukungiri, and Junior Nabaasa from Kabale in addition to Agnes Akatukunda who competed promisingly at last year’s national kids athletics in Luwero in addition to promising university runners Marvorous Orishaba, Seth Akampa and Barnabas Mugume.

“We thank UAF for the initiative because, with good follow-up and guidance, these already identified runners can be world stars in the future. It is not that these are the only ones we have identified and can groom from this region, but the budget limitations dictate, but we are sure that the coming camps will have a much-increased number,” Said camp coordinator Charles Karuma.

Orishaba who is a graduate of USSSA competitions and now goes to Ndejje University, made the Uganda university team to Chengdu, China where she rune to 6th position in the finals of 1500m while 2023 Inter-university competitions 10,000m champion Akampa and 1500m bronze winner Mugume are the newly discovered potential runners from the region.

“We are grateful to UAF for having thought about this and us specifically because we have been having training issues and now that we are training as a team and under very qualified coaches, it is a big input especially now that we have future competitions coming,” Said Seth Akampa.

The training and camping facilities in Kabale

The team is well-being accommodated at Kabale Trinity College with the support of college director Joab Tumwebarize and the available facilities of the school.

Kabale and the entire Kigezi region latitude is favourable especially for long-distance runners because of the high altitude like it is with the Sebei region.

There are all available training grounds for sprinting and endurance and also help to make and keep the fitness levels of the athletes.

However, these areas are not developed and prepared well enough for the professional training of athletes, especially the high hills.

Head coach Gordon Ahimbisibwe is well aware of the challenge and he spares risking the athletes in such places.

“We are very careful with the training places we take our athletes for hill work and speed work because not all places here are good for them and some because they are not leveled, we avoid taking them there because such places cause back injuries. So we have carefully chosen the training grounds at Kabale University,” Ahimbisibwe said.

Even when Banyakigezi under Dr. Peter Ngategize's foundation is planning the construction of a high-altitude training center in Kabale, but coach Ahimbisibwe appeals to the government for a facility similar to that of Teryet, Kachorwa.

The athletes go through drills at Kabale University grounds for speed work and Kabale University Hill for hill work.

Way forward

According to Karuma, the camp will conclude with a cross-country championship on Jan 26 where the best 6 female and 6 male athletes will qualify to represent the region at this year’s edition of the national cross-country championship due in Tororo next month (Feb).

Karuma also says the selected athletes that have been in camp, will closely be followed in their schools when the new academic year begins next month so to keep them closer and aware of their future.