In the latest released fixtures, the women’s league is set to continue on 18 and 19 March at Nyayo Stadium, the same dates the beach games will be ongoing in Malindi.
In a move aimed at allowing players that participate in beach volleyball to grace the upcoming National Olympics-organised Beach Game, the second leg of the Kenya Volleyball Federation (KVF) women’s league is likely to be postponed.
In the latest released fixtures, the women’s league is set to continue on 18 and 19 March at Nyayo Stadium, the same dates the beach games will be ongoing in Malindi.
Coach Sammy Mulinge who is part of the beach volleyball commission has revealed that consultations with the KVF executive are underway to chat a way forward.
“We have the two events scheduled for the same weekend and considering most if not all players in the indoor league also double up as the beach players for their respective teams, something has to be done. A decision is expected to be reached before the end of this week,” Mulinge revealed.
Additionally, the tactician says they will use the current beach volleyball rankings to come up with the teams that will be traveling to Malindi for the NOC-K extravaganza.
“We have the doubles rankings but they will only serve to guide the selection process. There will be a bit of tinkering as NOC-K are looking to run a 4v4 version so the players will have to regroup for that.
In the event that a pair that is highly ranked is unavailable, we will settle for the next beat pair. NOC-K is looking to have eight players per gender,” Mulinge further explained.
The Beach Games bring together 13 sports disciplines in Kilifi County for the event set to kick start preparations for the Africa Beach Games.
“Players will use the event to prepare for the second edition of the African Beach Games set to be hosted in Tunisia from 14 to 23 June 2023,” NOC-K Secretary General Francis Mutuku revealed in a previous interview.
The first Africa beach Games were held on the island of Sal, Cape Verde in June 2019.
“This is a good opportunity for federations to establish their beach versions of their respective sport. We have most of our federations turning to players who are not trained for beach sports whenever there is a need to come up with teams.
This is a chance to create active leagues in beach sport and popularize the same so that we have a pool to choose from for international competitions,” Mutuku added.