By OSCAR PILIPILI
Nairobi,Kenay:Nairobi County Secondary Schools Games resume today amid concern that the absence of private institutions has lowered the standards of hockey competition in the region.
Nairobi boys’ hockey coordinator Ken Bunyasi observed that shifting of hockey from Term One to Term Two ‘A’ has forced leading private schools to skip the contest.
Schools that have stayed away this season include former National and Nairobi champions Hillcrest Secondary School, Premier Academy, Brookhouse School and Oshwal Academy.
According to Bunyasi, the said schools opted to skip the competition because their co-curriculum calendar for term two does not feature hockey.
“The changes in hockey dates have lowered the standards of the competition in Nairobi because top schools are not participating,” said Bunyasi.
Kenya Secondary Schools Sports Association (KSSSA) effected changes to their games’ program that saw hockey moved from term one to two.
But following concerns raised by stakeholders including sponsors Brookside Dairy over the changes, KSSSA have agreed to return hockey to its original term one date as from next year.
At the same time, the last preliminary matches in hockey will be played today at Moi Nairobi (girls) and Lenana (boys).
Girls’ hockey committee chairman Japheth Akweri said the preliminary round of the female category ends with 12 fixtures on schedule.
“We expect the fixtures to be very competitive because teams are chasing remaining two slots to play in semis,” Akweri told FeverPitch in Nairobi yesterday.
Group ‘A’ frontrunners Moi Nairobi and Mt Laverna who tops Pool ‘B’ have already claimed two of the four semi-finals slots.
Moi Nairobi leads their pool with 18 points while Mt Laverna tops their group with 15 points.
Former national champs Pangani in Pool ‘B’ have three fixtures to honour and are drawn against Kianda (9am), Mt Laverna (1.30pm) and Parklands Arya (3.30pm).
Moi Nairobi meet Kenya High (10am) and Buru Buru (12.30pm) in their final group matches.
The top four teams in boys’ category are Lenana, Nairobi School, Upper Hill and Moi Forces Academy. Ultimate winners earn a berth to represent Nairobi in Metropolitan Games.
