The Kenya Secondary Schools Sports Association (KSSSA) games are set to commence on April 25th to 29th at Hill School and Moi Girls in Eldoret, Uasin Gishu County.
The participating teams arrived yesterday and held light training ahead of the games. The event will be officially opened by the Education Principal Secretary (PS) Belio Kipsang.
Over 2,000 students will participate in six disciplines which include rugby 15s, basketball, netball, hockey, athletics, and swimming.
The rugby 15s category is expected to be highly competitive as defending champions Kakamega High School were eliminated at the Western Region Term One games.
In Pool A, three-time champions Mang’u High from Central will face competition from debutants Ofafa Jericho from Nairobi and All Saints Embu High from Eastern. Rift Valley representatives, St. Patrick High, and Iten will also be present at the finals.
Pool B will see Butula Boys and St. Anthony’s Boys High School from Rift Valley, Kisii High from Nyanza, and Kwale High School from Coast Region competing in the rugby 15s category.
In the basketball category, Pool A will witness a face-off between Friends School Kamusinga from Western, Thika High from Central, Nairobi champions Dagoretti High, and Lukenya from Eastern while Laiser Hill from Rift Valley, Onjiko High from Nyanza, and Dr. Aggrey High from the Coast will compete in Pool B.
The boys’ hockey category has St. Anthony from Rift Valley, Maseno School from Nyanza, Meru School from Eastern, and Nairobi School competing in Pool A while Pool B features Mang’u High School, Kapsabet Boys, St. Charles Lwanga, and Musingu.
The absence of defending champions Trans Nzoia Mixed has created the opportunity for a new winner to be crowned in the girls’ hockey category. St. Josephs Kitale will compete with St. Charles Lwanga from the Coast in Pool A, which also features former champions Hillcrest and Nyamira Girls from Nyanza. Pool B will highlight Afraha, Tigoi, Loreto Girls, and AIC Nyayo Girls.
St. Joseph Girls team manager Linah Barasa has stated that they will not underestimate any team that has made it to the finals. Tigoi’s head coach has expressed confidence in lifting the trophy after five years of absence from the competition.
KSSSA Secretary General David Ngugi has ensured that all teams have arrived and the grounds are ready for the event.
He has vowed to ensure that age cheating remains a thing of the past with the introduction of NEMIS.
NEMIS provides a unique identification number to each student, and any cases of age cheating will result in strict action against the teacher and school involved. The national championship resumes fully for Terms One and Two after a two-year disruption due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
