Laikipia tug-of-war team braces for county games
By David Macharia, January 9, 2023
Laikipia County’s tug-of-war team has upped its preparation for the forthcoming Kenya Inter Counties Sports and Cultural Association (KICOSCA) set for Kisumu this week.
The team will be seeking to reclaim the tug-of-war title which they relinquished to Nairobi last year in Embu.
The KICOSCA tug-of-war winners will represent Kenya in the East African tug-of-war championship.
Speaking at the Nyahururu stadium where the team has been training, its captain Peter Kiragu said the preparation has been going on well adding that they are doing the final touches before travelling to Kisumu County for the 10th edition of KICOSCA games set to start on January 15th.
“We have been training here for three months in preparation for the upcoming games. We have been the champions of Kenya previously and we went all the way to be crowned the East African champions in Uganda.
“We want to replicate that feat when we go to Kisumu,” said Kiragu.
Laikipia County finished fourth in the tug-of-war last year behind Nairobi County while Kisumu was second.
Rotational basis
Kiragu said that this year’s East Africa Sports and Cultural Association (ERASCA) will be hosted by Rwanda where winners will proceed to Africa championship in South Africa.
KICOSCA games are held annually in different counties and they are hosted on a rotational basis from one county to the other.
Due to lack of training equipment and gear, the team has been using improvised equipment such as old heavy machinery tyres and concrete rollers.
Kiragu appealed to the home county to procure necessary training kitty saying some of them are not easy to buy individually.
“We are supposed to use military boots and wear heavy clothes designed for tug-of-war training and competition.
“The special clothes protect players from getting injuries,” the captain said.
Women are conspicuously absent from the Laikipia tug-of-war team. Kiragu said ladies are welcome since they are allowed to have them in the team during the competition.
Embu Governor who is the outgoing KICOSCA patron Cecily Mbarire handed over instruments of authority and power to undertake the roles of a Patron to Kisumu Governor Anyang Nyongo last year in October.
The games will have more than 10 disciplines including football, volleyball, tug of war, netball, athletics, basketball, chess, darts, draught, handball, ajua, scrabble and cultural dances