School games to include 3x3 basketball

Kenya Secondary Schools Sports Association (KSSSA) has introduced 3x3 basketball into their annual schools sports calendar.

Consequently, the new sport will debut at this year’s Second Term games that start next week at different sub-counties.

KSSSA has been praised for playing a huge role of feeding national teams with many athletes who have gone on to become world record holders.

“It is true, 3x3 basketball has been introduced in our calendar of events and will make its debut at this year’s games,” said KSSSA Secretary General David Ngugi.

Most counties will have their sub-county games from July 28-29, with county games scheduled for August 4-6. Regional finals are set for August 20, while national games are planned for September 8-12, in Nakuru.

Winners during the Nakuru games will represent the country in the East Africa secondary schools’ games to be held in Arusha, Tanzania, from September 14-24.

Last week, the Ministry of Education released calendar for co-curricular activities for both secondary and primary schools.

School games resumed last month with athletics championships, which was held at Kigari, in Embu. School games were postponed in March 2020 following the outbreak of Covid-19 pandemic.

Annually, KSSSA organises athletics, basketball, handball, hockey, rugby 7s and 15s as well as swimming in Term One, while Term Two has netball, racquet games (badminton, lawn tennis and table tennis), football and volleyball.

The introduction of the shorter version of basketball in schools is a win for Kenya Basketball Federation, who have been seeking ways of spreading the sport to all corners of the country.

The sport is one of the fastest-growing disciplines in Kenya as the country prepares make its debut in next week’s Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, United Kingdom.