Tag Archives: sports

Non-profit empowers youth through basketball

May 1, 2024News, Sports, Students, UCU School of Social Sciences#News, #social work, #students, sportsPatty Huston-Holm

Ekirapa Zachariah playing for the UCU Canons.

By Pauline Luba
A decade ago, the paths of Bwambale Kennedy, who was preaching the gospel, and Ekirapa Zachariah, who had a passion for playing basketball, crossed. At the time, Bwambale was using music, art and sports to help youth identify their purpose in life. Ekirapa’s great skills in playing basketball made him a natural fit for Bwambale’s programs.

But it was not through basketball that Bwambale first met Ekirapa. The latter had been interested in joining the music classes of the former. It was from there that Bwambale convinced Ekirapa to try out his skills in basketball, too. At the time, Ekirapa was a Senior Two student at Blessed Victor Senior Secondary in Mityana district located in central Uganda.

Since that meeting between Ekirapa and Bwambale, the two have influenced youth behaviour change for years through Holy Street Basketball, an academy that they started. The initiative also helps nurture talent, restore hope and transform lives, especially among children living in slums in Kampala. After setting up the academy, they began reaching out to families during holidays to interest the parents in letting their children learn basketball.

Ekirapa is one example of talent nurtured through the academy. Despite being one of the founders of the academy, Ekirapa also has been one of its beneficiaries. Presently, the 24-year-old plays basketball for the UCU Canons, a basketball team of Uganda Christian University (UCU). The UCU Canons, one of the most successful basketball teams in Uganda, plays in the country’s premier basketball league, the National Basketball League (NBL), with several championships under its belt.

The Holy Street Basketball academy focuses on training the youth on skills in basketball by professionally-trained coaches. It also holds regular camps and tournaments, where the children showcase their skills and promote healthy competition.

During the camps, the academy also conducts workshops to promote self-esteem and training in life skills. According to the organization’s website, the workshops address topics such as communication skills, teamwork, nutrition, health and conflict management, among others.

“The academy will produce the best players in Uganda. It’s going to change basketball in the country,” Ekirapa, who was raised by a single mother, said during the interview. The Holy Street Basketball Academy is part of the Holy Street Outreach International, a non-profit organisation. Bwambale is the Executive Director of the non-profit, and Ekirapa is a volunteer.

Auma Angella is another of the success stories of the academy. In 2020, Akello Daphne went to train in basketball with Auma, her 13-year-old sister. Often, Auma would sit by the side, watching her sister on the court. However, Auma’s consistency in going with her sister for the training drew the attention of the coaches, who urged her to join the court too. She hesitated. However, after the coaches gave Auma a nudge, on August 1, 2020, she tried out her skills in basketball. Just after three months on the court, the coaches in the academy had noticed the talent that Auma possessed.

Because of that exposure, she got a full scholarship to study at St. Noah Girls Secondary School, Zana, near Kampala.

In October 2021, Auma was invited to Uganda’s Under-15 national basketball team for girls to participate in the Federation of International Basketball Association (FIBA) U15 Skills Challenge. The tournament took place in Uganda.

Last year, Auma’s school, Buddo Secondary School, won the Africa Schools Sports Federation 3×3 in Morocco. In the tournament, Auma was named the Most Valuable Player.

There are many other players who have secured scholarships through the skills they acquired at the basketball academy. Ekirapa is one of them. In May 2024, he joins UCU to pursue Bachelor of Social Work and Social Administration. He recently completed his Diploma in Arts and Design from the Michelangelo College of Creative Arts Kisubi near Kampala.

Ekirapa, the son of Ekirapa Godfrey, who is self-employed, and Ekirapa Harriet, a school bursar, is the third born of six children.

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UCU Shepherds gain notoriety in rugby world

March 23, 2020Sports, Students, UCU Alumni#EastAfrica, #MarchMadness, #rugby, #Sevens, #UgandaChristianUniversity, #UgandaRugbyCranes, sports, UgandaPartnersPatty Huston-Holm

(NOTE: Across the United States, March Madness refers to National Collegiate Athletic Association basketball competitions – a month when university rivalries are at their peak. While March Madness was cancelled due to the Coronavirus in 2020, these Uganda Christian University sports stories are offered in honor of what was to be. The stories are a collaborative of The Standard and UCU Partners.)

By Maxy Abenaitwe

In the early years of the past decade, the Uganda Christian University (UCU) 7s Shepherds were the untouchables of East African rugby.

As a result, the Uganda Rugby Cranes and other national clubs like the Black Pirates continuously fished from the Shepherds’ pond. It is no wonder that half of the Uganda Rugby Cranes are former Shepherds.

Rugby, which originated in England in the first half of the 19^th century, is a sport involving two teams of 15 players each. They carry, pass and kick a ball into an end zone with winning determined by the greatest number of points. Often, the sport is known as “rugby sevens” for seven players per team engaged in seven-minute halves. The most basic law of the game is that no player is allowed to throw the ball forward to a teammate. In rugby, the ball is moved with sideways or backwards tosses or a player kicking and running with the ball.

Uganda had a deep history of men’s rugby participation ahead of the country’s first official rugby match in 1958. In 1955, the Uganda Rugby Football Union was formed. Much as there were no clubs at the time, games were frequently played between representatives from Kenya and Tanzania (or Tanganyika as it was called at the time) teams, but matches were mostly against the Royal Navy as well as some British and South African Universities. In 2000, UCU took on the rugby mantle and over time developed a great team of influential players.

Shepherds (in red jerseys) representing Uganda at international level

Over the years, UCU players have been recognized for their talent. Philip Wakorach has been the most desired player, whose talent is sought across borders, namely in Kenya and France. Equally, Ivan Magomu has been the best fly half (receiver of a short pass). Pius Ogena was recently awarded Male Rugby Player of Year 2019 under the Uganda Sports Press Association Awards, and Desire Ayera was recently ranked 37th player of Uganda’s 2019 top athletes.

Considering their current maiden performance, the current Shepherds are leaving lasting marks. The team won gold at the 2019 University Side Step 7s events. The Shepherds went ahead to win during the 18th AUUS 2019 games at Kisubi University. And immediately after their remarkable performance, two players were called at the National Rugby Cranes team.

Ivan Kabagambe, a former Shepherds’ player, says the great performance is largely inspired by the success of the Shepherds alumni.

“The alumni have also kept in touch to ensure talent keeps growing,” he said. “This has been done majorly through friendly matches between the Shepherds and their alumni.”

Despite a few challenges, Kabagambe thinks there is no excuse for not making it at UCU. This signifies that with more support from the university, the team could do wonders since the passion and talent is there. If only the Shepherds could participate in more tournaments, have more funding and have enough designated rugby training space, more medals would be brought home.

Why the great performance
Approximately 90% of the Shepherds attribute their success in the larger rugby world to UCU’s favorable environment that best suits sports development. They cite the hilly landscape, availability of drinking water all over the compound, access to good food, and use of gym facilities as well as university administrative support and medical attention.

The good medical attention, specifically the physiotherapy, helps the players to quickly get back on their feet and continue with their struggle.

Additionally, UCU sportsmen and women have a reputation of being the best people to work with. This is because of their remarkably good discipline. The factor of character also has contributed to the quick growth of the Shepherds.

The future of rugby
Close to 50% of the rugby clubs, the national team inclusive, have aging players. This means university students are being targeted and have professional opportunities.

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Ugandan football (ah, soccer) continues to soar for girls

March 17, 2020Sports, Students#EastAfrica, #football, #LadyCardinals, #MarchMadness, #soccer, #UgandaChristianUniversity, sports, UgandaPartnersPatty Huston-Holm

Akao (in yellow, center) poses with her teammates (Photo by Andrew Bugembe)

(NOTE: Across the United States, March Madness refers to National Collegiate Athletic Association basketball competitions in a month when university rivalries are at their peak. In honor of the “madness” of watching American basketball in March 2020 and in collaboration with the Uganda Christian University student newspaper, The Standard, UCU Partners is featuring stories on this month on some of the sports played at UCU. This week, the focus is on soccer.)

By Eva Kyomugisha

One of the greatest gifts God gave Africa is football. It is very common to find a group of people gathered at a field or around a television in a pub watching a football match, each with his or her own comments as to how the game should be played.

Ugandan football, which Americans would call “soccer,” came to the country with British introduction in 1897. Like USA soccer, the objective is to score goals without touching the ball with the hands. The Uganda Football Association, now called the Federation of Uganda Football Associations (FUFA), started in 1925 with a league inaugurated in 1962. The game originally for men only has crossed the gender barrier.

Women’s football in Uganda started in the early 1990s but initially was only played for fun and not professionally. According to the FUFA website, the first time qualification was attempted for the African Cup for women was in 1998 when Uganda hosted Egypt at Nakivubo stadium.

Currently, women’s football in Uganda has gained traction with approximately 50 teams participating in a number of leagues in the country.

Ruth Akao plays a ball during practice (Photo by Andrew Bugembe)

As a little girl, Ruth Akao grew up around boys who loved to play Ugandan football. This exposure ignited the 21-year-old Uganda Christian University (UCU) student’s passion for the sport as she often participated in some of the groups’ games.

“It made me happy when I played,” she said.

She continued playing the sport while at school. She has been engaged in professional leagues for over 10 years and isn’t done yet. While at Hope High School along Masaka Road (between Mukono and Kampala), she was scouted to play for the UCU Lady Cardinals team.

“I play position 11 which is the left-wing,” Akao said. “My job is to get the ball from the midfield and cross it to the box for scoring. Sometimes, we do the scoring ourselves.”

According to Akao, a major benefit from the sport is the fact that she receives half tuition to pursue her studies in Human Rights, Peace and Humanitarian Intervention in the Faculty of Social Sciences. She also states that she has been able to meet new people and make the necessary connections that she may need at a later time in her career.

“Ten years from now, I would like to start my own sports academy for girls,” she said.

Akao was part of the UCU Cardinals’ team that captured many honors in 2019, including a win of the Women’s Elite League. Despite Akao’s success in the sport, not many people in her life support her passion for the male-dominated sport.

“There is a time I went to the village and the people there were not happy with the fact that I am a football player,” she explains.

Akao added that most people find girls’ football to be too slow and boring for them to watch. She attributed this to the limited publicity from television and radio stations, which do not air the girls’ games as much as the boys’ games.

“It is only one radio station, FUFA, which sometimes plays our games,” she said.

Akao has also personally had her own challenges the sport. She explains that the volume of games means that she often has to miss some of her classes to participate in them.

“I have resorted to studying in the night in order to keep up with my studies,” she said.

For Akao, she advises the ladies who want to join the male-dominated sport to get out of their comfort zones and do what they love to do irrespective of what people tell them to do.

“Do not give up, and keep going,” she said.

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Shorter-than-normal Ugandan basketball player uses ‘brain’ to excel

March 3, 2020Sports, Students#Basketball, #CaliforniaWarriors, #FayedBaale, #FIBA, #MarchMadness, #NBA, #StephCurry, #UCUCanons, #UgandaChristianUniversity, sports, UgandaPartnersPatty Huston-Holm

Fayed Baale celebrates after winning game 6 of the finals of the National Basketball League (NBL)

(NOTE: Across the United States, March Madness refers to National Collegiate Athletic Association basketball competitions – a month when university rivalries are at their peak. In honor of the “madness” of watching American basketball in March 2020 and in collaboration with interns working at the Uganda Christian University student newspaper, The Standard, UCU Partners is featuring stories on the UCU sports of basketball, netball, soccer, rugby and hockey.)

By Maria Eyoru

Every evening, when returning the Standard newspaper office keys to the Uganda Christian University (UCU) main gate, I watch students, namely members of the UCU Cannons boys team, practice at the nearby court.

My interest in the game especially peaked when I observed the shortest player on the team. He dribbled the ball, gripping it firmly in his hands while smartly ducking to dodge his taller opponents. I was intrigued by this young man who stood at five feet, eight inches – more than four inches shorter than any other player.

His feet appeared to move as light as feathers as he smartly ran fast while still dribbling the ball, ducking down to pass the ball to a teammate. That uncanny speed, especially by a not-so-tall player, caught my attention. The opponents seemed lost and confused. Captivated by what I saw, I decided to talk to this player – Fayed Baale. I simply had to know more about this UCU player of a sport, basketball, which started internationally in 1891 and in Africa in the early 1960s.

Fayed’s journey to become a basketball player wasn’t easy. It was a difficult voyage that involved a game of cat and mouse. Before he developed the interest in basketball, he had a passion for playing football (soccer) as is most common among the youths of Uganda.

One of his coaches, Zayed Yahaya, approached him about shifting his skill to basketball. Zayed nudged and kept nudging until Fayed joined in Secondary 3 (high school junior year).

Fayed said his coach’s persistence was so overwhelming that he found strategies to “dodge” him. Half joking, Fayed added, “He started monitoring me and punishing me, so I played out of fear.”

At the onset, Fayed’s parents were not supportive and asked teachers to discourage him from being on the court. Basketball began in 1963 in Uganda. It was registered under the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) and has since grown to have over 20 teams. It is popular but still lags behind soccer that has been around longer.

“My parents tasked the teachers at school to punish me if they ever found me on court, but they did not,” Fayed said.

He eventually developed a passion for the game and started to play with the National Basketball Association (NBA) Junior League; the team won the NBA Junior League in 2015.

Though he loves the game, he understands that height as his could be a challenge. He overcomes his elevation deficiency with being quick on his feet, playing smart and focusing on his goals. He has to put in extra effort and works twice as hard as the other players through speed and quick thinking.

“What it takes for me to make it, you have to have the heart, passion, self motivation, patience and work harder,” he said. “I work out a lot so that by the time I go for the game, I’m faster than others. And I use my brain. That is how I survive.”

His drive comes, in part, from Stephen “Steph” Curry, a Golden State Warrior with National Basketball Association honors in the United States. Curry is taller than Fayed and from a sports family with a role model sports father and basketball-playing brother and volley ball-playing sister. Curry also is a decade older than 20-year-old Fayed, the first born of seven children. Yet, despite differences, the California basketball star serves as an inspiration for the younger and shorter Ugandan.

Fayed is planning on playing the sport professionally when he finishes his education and while being a human rights activist in Uganda. He is pursuing a Bachelors degree in Human Rights, Peace and Humanitarian Interventions within the Social Science faculty at UCU.

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