Taibah Schools badminton tourney called off

Following the presidential directive to suspend sporting activities, the Uganda Badminton Association (UBA) has postponed the 20th Taibah Schools Badminton Tournament until next term.

The 2020 event that also marks the 20th anniversary of the annual tournament organised by UBA and Taibah Schools was launched on Wednesday at Taiban Junior School in Kawempe.

It was to roll off this Friday at Lugogo Indoor Arena until Sunday and over 300 players from 30 primary schools had been confirmed to participate.

The Presidential directive was made on Wednesday afternoon and it entailed closure of all schools, universities and tertiary institutions for a month from March 20 for 32 days.

The UBA CEO, Simon Mugabi had indicated at the launch of the tournament that they will be following the guidelines distributed by the World Badminton Federation (BWF) in December and the government initiatives about the virus.

The BWF guidelines prohibit the fair play hand-shake before and after the game together with hugging.

The same applies to all people who would intend to attend any competition.

"We were ready to abide by these guidelines until the Presidential national address that caused us to postpone the event to next term," Mugabi said.

UBA believes the tournament is entirely for talent identification naming many of the national stars who played in this tournament such as Daniel Mihigo, Brian Kasirye, Davis Ssenono, Aisha Nakiyemba, and Shamim Bangi

Competition is between players aged 10 to 19 years.