Foreign athletes to compete in Arua
Jun 13, 2014
FOREIGN athletes from neighbouring Congo and South Sudan will take part in the West Nile Region Athletics championships that is due Saturday in Arua
By Norman Katende
West Nile Mayank Meet, Arua (Saturday)
Kyabazinga meet, Bugembe (Saturday)
8th Arop Memorial/Northern Regional Championships, Gulu (July 5)
Western region championships, Kabale (July 5)
FOREIGN athletes from neighbouring Congo and South Sudan will take part in the West Nile Region Athletics championships that is due Saturday in Arua.
Bugembe will also be hosting the Kyabazinga Championships on the same day.
The national athletics federation technical committee said that they will not be locking the foreigners out, with most of them attending school in the district while others walk from their respective countries to do their daily routine in the West Nile district.
This is so because the district has good facilities and the competition that brings together athletes from the West Nile districts will offer them some good competition.
West Nile is made up of Moyo, Arua, Yumbe, Adjumani, Nebbi and Koboko districts.
“We will not lock them out,” federation secretary Beatrice Ayikoru said.
The regional athletics championships are set to give an opportunity to new and budding talent to compete as a way of being spotted by fully fledged clubs so that their talents can be developed and monitored.
But beyond that, other athletes who rarely get a chance to travel to Namboole Stadium and compete in the national trials, are also given a chance to gauge themselves and also know where they will begin from in trying to qualify for the national championships.
Stars like Annet Negesa, Dorcus Inzikuru and Annet Kabasindi are some of the talents that have been unearthed from such events and this year’s competition isn’t expected to be different.
At Bugembe, focus will be on King of Kings, the school that always produces surprise long distance women athletes and Kakira, which was once a long distance power house with names like Cirino Abong.
At Arua, focus will be on the sprinters and field competitors, most especially the throws.
“We cannot say which athletes will be found as registration is already done on the day of competition but we expect a good turn up in both events,” said Faustino Kiwa, the organising secretary of the federation.
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