Nairobi students gear up for Term One Sub-Region games

It’s all systems go as Nairobi schools gear up for battle for slots to the regional Term One games set for March 11 to 14 at several venues across the city.

Stakes will be higher as last year’s winners fight to escape an early purge while the aspiring champions seek to dethrone them.

They will not just be playing for bragging rights, but for a place at the regionals which will move them closer to the ultimate which is tickets to the 2026 Kenya Secondary Schools Sports Association (KSSSA) National Term One games set for April 7-11 in Kisumu.  

Unlike previous years where teams qualified for the regional games at the Sub-County level, this year’s competition format has changed.

Nairobi now has three sub-regions equivalent to counties in the other seven regions.

Finalists from 18 sub-counties will battle for tickets to Nairobi Region games in the three new establishments; Nairobi West, Nairobi North and Nairobi East.

Nairobi West, comprising Westlands, Dagoretti North, Dagoretti South, Kibra and Langata sub-counties, has the top teams in Nairobi.

Looking at Nairobi West, it is similar to Kakamega and Bungoma of Western Region or Trans Nzoia of Rift Valley and Nyanza’s Kisumu County.

With five out of seven Term One regional defending champions keen to avoid relinquishing their titles, Nairobi West is definitely the sub-region to watch.

Basketball champions Dagoretti High (boys) and Olympic High (girls) and Dagoretti Mixed (handball girls) will put their titles on the line in Nairobi West.

Rugby 15s champions Upper Hill and Hospital Hill (boys’ hockey) are also on a mission to retain their titles.

However, Rugby 15s and hockey will maintain the previous format of play which culminates at the regional final.

Former national and East Africa basketball champions Upper Hill, Lang’ata High School, fast-rising Hospital Hill and perennial finalists Nairobi School will have a date in Nairobi West with the top two automatically advancing to the regionals.

In the girls' contest, Olympic High will face off with former winners Parklands Arya and Raila Educational Center, who are currently the top teams.

Parklands Arya basketball coach Barrack Amamo said competition in Nairobi West will be tougher than the other two regions.

“West comprises the best teams in Nairobi in most sports and I believe that any team that qualifies from here will have higher chances of playing at the national games,” Amamo said.

Former girls’ basketball champions Buruburu will represent Makadara in Nairobi East against teams from six other sub-counties.

The 2019 national holders are expected to have it easy at the sub-region with no team posing a major threat to their ambitions. They will meet stronger opponents at the regional games.

The Highway Secondary School will be out to secure their ticket to the region where they will be hoping to successfully defend their boys' handball trophy.

Highways, who were previously in Makadara, are now in Starehe Sub-County and will be up against teams from six sub-counties in Nairobi North.