The National Olympic Committee of Kenya (NOC-K) has laid down elaborate plans to enable them work better with the Sports Journalists Association of Kenya (SJAK).

NOC-K Secretary General Francis Mutuku singled out the association as a pertinent partner whose role in the growth of sports in the country cannot be downplayed.

Speaking on Saturday during SJAK’s Annual General Meeting held in Naivasha, Mutuku took the sports scribes through the 2022-2024 NOC-K programme.

“The main focus of the plan this year is the upcoming Commonwealth and Africa Youth Games,” shared Mutuku.

As part of the partnership, Mutuku said empowering female sports journalists is one of the key areas the body wants to front.

“When you look around you will see there is a need to empower women to venture into sports journalism, this we shall do via avenues like scholarships and mentorship programmes thus encouraging our women to embrace the sports,” he said.

Mutuku also revealed that NOC-K will organise more workshops for sports journalists to help them deliver their roles better.

Cover events

“We will support more training for journalists with a view of enhancing their journalistic skills and understanding the mechanics of operations of various sporting agencies.”

The Commonwealth Games will be held from July 28 to August 8 in Birmingham, the United Kingdom, with the African Youth Games scheduled for August 29 to September 7 in Egypt.

Mutuku urged the scribes to seek accreditation early enough so that they can be able to cover the events.

“The Commonwealth Games is a big event that needs big groups to effectively cover the Games. Therefore, we want to encourage as many journalists to apply for accreditation as early as possible,” he added.

Mutuku also assured the various federations that NOC-K will support them in their preparations while challenging them to do their best not only to participate but also win medals and lift the Kenyan flag high.

The  delayed AGM was the climax of a two-day workshop that also saw journalists taken through a mental health session by experts from Chiromo Hospital Group.

 Sports journalists were equipped with Mental Health Awareness skills to help them in coping with adverse effects of Covid-19 in their work spaces.

The Clinical Physiologist and Head of Digital Relations at Chiromo Hospital Group, Gathoni Mbugua, urged scribes to embrace “ the serenity prayer” to deal with challenges posed by domestic and work related aspects of life.

The Serenity Prayer is a prayer written by American theologian Reinhold Niebuhr (1892–1971) commonly quoted as: “God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference.”

Gathoni called on sports journalists to embrace health coping mechanisms which revolve around the 4A’s “Avoid unnecessary stress, Alter the Situation, Accept the Situation and Accept things that you can’t change.”

“Research has it that people spend a third of their lifetime in their workspace. So it’s important to control emotions at work. We also have to develop the uncanny ability to perceive reality, think rationally and solve problems. Coping with stress at work involves adjusting to or tolerating negative events or realities while you try to keep your positive self-image and emotional equilibrium,” she explained.