Relief as volleyball gets the greenlight to resume play
Malkia Strikers head coach Paul Bitok gives instructions to his charges during their Olympics qualifier against Egypt at Palais polyvalent des sports (Paposy) Arena in Yaoundé on January 5, 2020.
What you need to know:
- Bitok welcomed the move saying he had already handed his training programme to the Kenya Volleyball Federation (KVF).
- Volleyball is among contact sports that was suspended by Sports Cabinet Secretary Amina Mohamed from March because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Kenya’s national volleyball teams have been given the green light by the government to start training.
The development is music to the ears of national women’s volleyball team coach Paul Bitok who was worried that the team might fall behind schedule in preparation of next year’s Olympic Games in Tokyo.
Bitok welcomed the move saying he had already handed his training programme to the Kenya Volleyball Federation (KVF).
“In the programme, we intend to train for 15 days in a month, meaning at least two or three days in a week. We hope to kick start the training early next month.
“But we await the feedback from the Federation, but we had indicated our intention to hit the ground next month,” said Bitok.
However, other activities, including the KVF National League that had been confirmed for the world volleyball governing body (FIVB) calendar and was scheduled to serve off late this month, remains suspended.
Volleyball is among contact sports that was suspended by Sports Cabinet Secretary Amina Mohamed from March because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Executive committee meeting
KVF first vice chairman Charles Nyaberi said the resumption of some of the activities is a big step in the right direction.
“The confirmation by Sports Principal Secretary Joe Okudo that our national teams can resume activities is a milestone.
“However, we hope and remain optimistic that at the end of it all, everything will be back to normal,” said Nyaberi.
The official, at the same time, said the federation will hold its executive committee meeting today at Riadha House to discuss, among other things, forthcoming age-group competitions.
“We will look at the national women’s team’s logistics prior to their scheduled training sessions as well as age-group competitions that we intend to feature our teams in,” Nyaberi said.
Among the African age-group championships that the African Volleyball Confederation (CAVB) has released include:
Women’s Under-20 (December 4-13 in Kampala), girls’ Under-18 (January 29 to February 7 in Abuja), men’s Under-21 (February 18-26 in Cairo) and boys’ Under-19 (February 1-6 in Tunis).
