National teachers Championship kick off at Homabay
The national teachers tournament kicked off today at Agoro Sare highschool. Twenty nine teams take part in the tournament fifth edition.
The inaugural event , held on Saturday in Kakamega, drew 12 teams and received acclaim for its success from the organizing committee, led by tournament director Brian Mwenje.
In the boys' under-12 category, four teams competed in a round-robin format. Gilgil Vumbi, asserted their dominance by winning all their games.
The other teams in the competition included Kabras, Toto Afrika from Mumias, and Bungoma.
In the girls' category, only two teams, Gilgil Vumbi and Bungoma, participated. Gilgil maintained their dominance, securing a decisive victory over Bungoma with a score of 39-0. Josephine Kerubo of Gilgil emerged as the most valuable player, showcasing exceptional performance with three tries.
In the under-14 category, six teams registered for participation, organized into two pools by Mwenje and his team.
Pool A consisted of Kabras, Kakamega, and Bungoma, while Pool B included Barbarians, Gilgil, and Mumias. Mumias, despite registering, couldn't field the required number of players, resulting in walkovers for their opponents.
In Pool A, Kakamega dominated by defeating both Kabras and Bungoma. The clash between Kabras and Bungoma determined the second spot, with Bungoma emerging victorious with a score of 15-5.
The first semi-final witnessed Kakamega overpowering Barbarians with a convincing 39-0 victory. In the second semi-final, Gilgil Vumbi showcased their continued dominance, winning 27-0 against Bungoma, securing their spot in the finals against Kakamega.
The finals proved to be an intense match, with Gilgil securing a narrow victory against Kakamega. Gilgil had to dig deep for their triumph, leading 12-7 at the end of the first half.
In the second half, Kakamega equalised through Robert Carlos but that was not enough as Gilgil’s Garang Geu put them in front in the dying minutes of the second half prompting a 19-12 win for the Rift Valley side side ensuring they won the last category of the tournament.
Gilgil coach Allan Bush was ecstatic after securing victories in all categories of the tournament.
“The best feeling of the year after achieving the goals and dreams of coming to kakamega and making the huge statement that rugby is our thing and rugby is made in riftvalley.In future we need more girls team through adequate planning and early invitations. We will also need more restriction in matters age but all in all it was a good day of age grade rugby,” delightful Bush revealed.
The tournament director expressed gratitude to all well-wishers who supported and contributed to making the tournament a success.
“All I can say is thank you to everyone who set aside their cent and time in making sure that this tournament be what it has been. I would like to thank my able team that I have been working with all along. Our CEO Amanga Collins for giving us this opportunity in ensuring that we give this kids such a tournament. The tournament secretary Nelvine Lumiti for his good work on and off the media. Dave Mwaura for ensuring we have timely posters all through. Tabitha Nashipae of Mozzart for coming through for us and last but not least Shirley Anido from the Rugby Union for making sure that this tournament happens.” Mwenje stated.
“Next year we are planning bigger things for your kids and it only gets better. We are hoping that this tournament will be rotational and we are going to come to your region next,” added Mwenje.
