Beach Volleyball: Mombasa hosts Zone Five championships
Kenya's Brackcides Agala (right) and Gaudencia Makokha in action during their 2022 Beach Volleyball World Championships Group 'L' match against Italy's Claudia Scampoli and Margherita Blanchin at Foro Italico, in Rome, Italy on June 10, 2022. Kenya lost 2-0.
What you need to know:
- Five countries have confirmed attendance for the regional qualifiers for next year’s CAVB Continental Cup whose winner will represent Africa at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games
- Hosts Kenya will be joined by Rwanda, Burundi, Egypt and Uganda in the race for the top three slots in the tournament that will also double up as qualifiers for next year’s African Games to be held in Ghana
- CAVB Zone V President Fernand Ruterana said he was happy with the turnout ahead of Tuesday’s technical meeting which will determine the format of play
The fight for a single slot reserved for Africa in beach volleyball at the 2024 Olympics begins Tuesday as Mombasa hosts Confederation of African Volleyball (CAVB) Zone Five qualifiers.
Five countries have confirmed participation in the regional beach volleyball qualifiers whose podium finishers will play in next year’s CAVB Continental Cup. The winner of the continental championships will in turn represent Africa in beach volleyball at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
Hosts Kenya will be joined by Rwanda, Burundi, Egypt and Uganda in the race for the top three slots in the tournament, which will also double up as a qualifier event for next year’s African Games in Ghana.
CAVB Zone V President Fernand Ruterana said he was happy with the turnout ahead of Tuesday’s technical meeting which will determine the format of play. The tournament will be played at the Pride Inn Paradise hotel in Mombasa from Wednesday till Saturday.
“We had hoped that we would get one more team but Tanzania pulled out due to financial constraints. Five is still a good number to work with and I hope we will have a good competition. The top three teams will qualify for both the Continental Cup and African Games so a lot is at stake clearly,” Ruterana told Nation Sport.
It was put to Ruterana that teams like Gambia, Mozambique and South Africa who have already qualified from other zonal qualifiers pose a threat to Zone V teams, but the Rwandan administrator insists that history shows that this is the zone to beat.
“Over the years we have had teams from Zone V representing Africa at major competitions like World Championships, Olympic Games and Commonwealth Games. The zonal qualifiers gives our teams an opportunity to continue their preparations and gauge themselves. We hope to see the same trend continuing next year when our teams get the ticket to Paris,” said Ruterana.
Meanwhile, Team Kenya for the upcoming qualifiers has officially been unveiled.
In the women’s team, Gaudencia Makokha will have a new partner in Yvonne Wavinya with Brackcides Agala ruled out due to injury and Naomi Too unavailable due to personal reasons.
New call-ups Mercy Iminza and Sharleen Sembel made the cut ahead of Mariam Musa and Pamela Masaisai. Kenya Prisons duo of Elphas Makuto and Jairus Bett headline the men’s team that also has national team setter Brian Melly and Edward Kibet.
KVF President Charles Nyaberi said Team Kenya is raring to go after three weeks of preparations.
“We have some new faces in the team but we are confident the team will qualify for the next stage. We are grateful to government for supporting the team’s training and the tournament itself,” said Nyaberi who also thanked Pride Inn Paradise Hotel for providing a suitable venue for the championship.
Patrick Owino will take charge of the men’s team while Sally Wanjala will be the women’s team head coach.
Team Kenya
Women: Gaudencia Makokha, Yvonne Wavinya, Mercy Iminza and Sharleen Sembel
Men: Elphas Makuto, Jairus Bett, Brian Melly and Edward Kibet.
