Kenya curling teams begin road to Milano-Cortina 2026 Olympics
Kenya women's curling team pose for a photo at the ongoing 2022 Pan Continental Curling Championships in Canada on November 1, 2022.
What you need to know:
- Curling is a team sport where players of two teams take turns in sliding stones made of granite towards a target known as a house
- In Africa, Kenya and Nigeria are the only countries where the sport is played
- Oguta thanked the National Olympics Committee of Kenya and the government for their support to the national teams despite the sport "being new in the country"
Gaining experience is the top priority for the national curling men’s and women’s teams in Canada for the 2022 Pan Continental Curling Championships.
Kenya Curling Federation (KCF) president Lavender Oguta said their main focus is getting the senior national teams exposed since this is their first major curling event.
They are also looking to gain points in order to be ranked by the World Curling Federation, as they eye a ticket to the Milano-Cortina 2026 Olympics.
Curling is a team sport where players of two teams take turns in sliding stones made of granite towards a target known as a house.
KCF was registered in August 2020, and the national teams have been training at Panari Hotel in Nairobi – the only place in the country with an ice skating rink.
In Africa, Kenya and Nigeria are the only countries where the sport is played.
Since both Nigeria and Kenya are still minnows in the sport, they are in Division B at the Pan Continental Curling Championships.
Division A consists of the top teams in the sport.
Kenya, Guyana, Hong Kong, Kazakhstan, Nigeria, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia are the teams in the men’s Division B category at the Canada event.
The women's edition of the same division has Kenya, Chinese Taipei, Mexico and Nigeria.
“What is important to us is the players getting exposed and getting points so that for the first time ever we get ranked by the World Curling Federation. Players getting the feel of the big stage will go a long way in building formidable national teams,” said Oguta.
The national men’s squad include; Oliver Echenje (captain), Haggai Ogak, Victor Obiero, Simon Karanja and Stanley Mukuba.
They started the competition brightly by defeating Nigeria 11-10 on Monday.
Kenya, who are being handled by coach Pierre and Francois of Canada on voluntary basis had tied 10-10 with Nigeria at the end of normal time forcing the match to be decided in extra time.
Kenya failed to carry the winning momentum into their second and third matches as they lost 14-3 and 15-1 to Kazakhstan and Guyana respectively.
In the women’s category, Kenya lost 10-3 to Mexico in their opening match of the competition. The national women’s quad is made up of Purity Njuguna (captain) , Rose Obilo, Mercy Ngovi, and Tinisha Wanjiru.
While the national men's team was on Wednesday scheduled to face Saudi Arabia, the women's side was to meet Nigeria.
Oguta thanked the National Olympics Committee of Kenya and the government for their support to the national teams despite the sport "being new in the country."
She called on other stakeholders to come on board in supporting the teams so that Kenya becomes a powerhouse in the sport.
