Teryet Training Centre: A year later, questions remain over full utilisation

When President Yoweri Museveni commissioned the Teryet National High-Altitude Training Centre in Kapchorwa in December 2024, it was hailed as a landmark investment in Uganda's sporting future.

The state-of-the-art facility, built in one of the country's renowned high-altitude regions, boasts a modern athletics track, an artificial turf for field events, accommodation facilities and other amenities designed to support elite athlete development.

It was expected to become a hub for both Ugandan and international athletes seeking excellent training conditions.

The commissioning also marked the beginning of the facility's management under the National Council of Sports (NCS), in line with the new Sports Act, which mandates the council to oversee all national sports infrastructure.

More than a year later, however, questions remain about whether the facility is being fully utilized and whether it is delivering the impact that was envisioned.

During the commissioning ceremony, NCS General Secretary Dr. Patrick Bernard Ogwel emphasized that the center would serve a wide range of sports disciplines. Leaders and athletes from various sports federations were invited to tour the facility and explore opportunities for their national teams to train there.

Yet, despite those ambitions, athletics remains the primary beneficiary of the facility. Other national teams have largely stayed away, citing a lack of sport specific infrastructure.

Uganda Boxing Federation president Moses Muhangi says the sport has not been able to fully utilize the facility because it lacks the necessary equipment required for boxing training.

"The last time we were in Teryet, they had promised us to include a boxing facility that means a hall with a ring, punching bags and some weights," Muhangi said.

"We would have loved to train in such a quiet environment but the facility is not customized for boxing. I argue that when the government is constructing facilities, they should consider major games, of which boxing is one of them."

Part of the challenge also lies in Teryet's location. Situated approximately 305 kilometers from Kampala, the journey to Kapchorwa can be lengthy and demanding. While the high altitude offers significant advantages for endurance athletes, particularly runners, it may not provide the same benefits for many other sports disciplines.

However, distance alone cannot fully explain the limited usage.

Athletics coach Peter Chelangat, who resides in Kapchorwa, says the facility has already started attracting some international athletes, particularly from Europe.

"There are a few European athletes who always train in Teryet when they visit Kapchorwa," Chelangat noted.

He believes the government deserves credit for establishing the facility, saying it has already started boosting tourism and economic activity in the area.

"The facility has economically started to pay off. We have tourists who come to visit, enabling locals to earn some cash. We have many sports tourists who come to visit. I can say the facility is promising economically," he said.

However, Chelangat believes more work is needed if Teryet is to realize its full potential as a regional and international training hub.

According to Chelangat, limited accommodation and poor network connectivity remains one of the key limitations. Chelangat believes a practical solution lies in improving telecommunications infrastructure around the facility.

"For the facility to fully gain a boost, better hotels need to be constructed. The road to the facility is very nice; you can even train at night, but the network is poor. If the government works on that, it will be of great advantage,” Chelangat noted.

The hostel at the facility has 12 rooms with each accommodating two athletes meaning it can only take up a team of 24 athletes.

"A lot of publicity is still needed. The facility is good but publicity is lacking. It needs a lot of marketing to attract more foreign athletes," Chelangat highlighted.

The investment has already been made. The challenge now is ensuring that Teryet evolves from being an outstanding facility on paper into a fully utilized national asset that serves the broader sporting community. There is reason for optimism; however, as the government has pledged to expand the center in the next phase of construction by adding more sports facilities and increasing accommodation capacity.