On 12th of December 2009, Kenya celebrated a very important day in its history. Jamhuri Day is a very important day in Kenyan history as it reminds the nation of its foundation and declaration to be a republic. For that matter the day is a national holiday celebrated annually in all parts of the country, the climax of which happens at Nyayo National Stadium in Nairobi.
This year the celebrations at Nyayo stadium was quite unique due to the fact that it also marks the first time ever tchoukball was played at such a forum in Kenya. After the entertainment and the vital speeches of the Prime Minister and the President, Kenya Tchoukball Federation was given a chance to showcase the new game of tchoukball and have the first ever Jamhuri Day Tchoukball Match. The match was played at the Handball Court of Nyayo National Stadium and it attracted a wide audience of curious onlookers as well as handball fanatics and tchoukball fans in Kenya.
After the demonstration of tchoukball which was spearheaded by Julio Calegari and Kennedy Miruka, the most awaited match kicked off between Starehe Tchoukball Club and The University of Nairobi Tchoukball Club. Both teams, though having new players, showed a considerable amount of expertise and battled in a breathtaking high speed match that kept the pace of the game at an exceedingly exciting notch.
In the end, Starehe Tchoukball Club lifted the highly coveted trophy after a narrow win of 37 – 35 over the University team.
Congratulations to the Starehe Tchoukball club for such a sterling performance and congratulations for the University of Nairobi for making it to the Finals.
The Starehe Team led by captain, Elvis Juma, included the following athletes:
• Eli Justus
• Josiah Ngoro
• Hassan Juma
• Cornelius Makori
• Samuel Sikoa
• Charles Kemei
• George Bulimu
• Wesley Koech
The University team on the other hand was led by Goeffrey Wekesa and included the following athletes:
• Polycarp Okock
• Patrick Kimani
• Dennis Muriithi
• Paul Ndungi
• Paul Maina
• Emmanuel Okeri
• Cosmas Wachira
• Clement Lang’at
• Barrack Obama
This being the first match, it sets precedence for subsequent Jamhuri Day Tournaments which we know shall improve each year and will include more and more teams as tchoukball grows in Kenya.
We are very thankful to the Kenyan Government and specifically to the Ministry of Sports and Youth affairs, through the sports department for their tremendous support during this event. We are thankful to Ms Agnes and Mr. Alfred Anditi for their presence and acceptance to grace the occasion. Besides the Trophy, they also ensured we had transport for both teams and provided us with refreshments during the event. Their assistance was indeed the very element of the success of the day. Many thanks indeed and we hope to continue the good collaboration in the coming days, months and even years…
We also appreciate the kindness and brotherliness of the Austrian Team for their vital support in the promotion of tchoukball in Kenya. Most specifically, we are truly thankful for the T-shirts that they donated during the Jamhuri Day event. The T-shirts will contribute a great deal towards our promotional activities in Kenya. The Austrian Team has strongly demonstrated one of the fundamental principles upon which tchoukball was founded, that is to forge friendliness and brotherhoods between different communities of the world.
We also want to thank the executive committee of Kenya Tchoukball Federation and especially the V. President, Mr. John Opot for their great commitment to ensure that everything goes according to plan.
As we close the year, we look forward to greater things ahead. We anticipate an exponential growth of tchoukball in Kenya in 2010 and we still extend our invitation to any team in the world that would like to have a friendly/ competitive match with us to feel free and contact us.
MERRY CHRISTMAS AND PROSPEROUS TCHOUKFILLED 2010
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