The Kenya Rafting Federation has taken a leading role in the push for the formation of a new regional rafting bloc covering countries in East, Central and Southern Africa.
The initiative follows growing interest in the sport after Kenya successfully hosted the African Rafting Championships last year and, more recently, the World Rafting Cup Series for the first time on the African continent.
According to Kenya Rafting Federation Secretary General and United Rafting Executive Board member William Kariuki Mwangi, the formation of a regional bloc will accelerate the growth and development of rafting across Africa.
“The formation of a regional bloc will help to accelerate the growth and development of rafting sports on the African continent by enabling the organization of regular championships among member countries. This will, in turn, increase their competitiveness against other world teams and improve their chances of qualifying when rafting becomes a ratified Olympic sport.”
The initiative comes at a time when the world rafting governing body is in the process of introducing a Continental Championship, which will see countries representing the four continents compete, with the inaugural tournament scheduled to be held in India next year.
“It will also be a great opportunity for the region, which is endowed with natural resources, to utilize its numerous water bodies to help nurture the sport of rafting, which has been slow to penetrate more African countries,” said Kariuki.
“This will only be possible by working together and having exchange programmes among member countries.”
Kariuki added that the Sagana course has been identified as a potential venue to host the continental championship in Africa.
The initiative has received a positive response, with potential member countries already progressing with the registration process. South Sudan is the latest country to register and establish a national federation.
“The bloc will have about 12 countries, which is very encouraging. Compared to Europe, which has 28 member federations, if Africa can have 15 or 16, that would be very good because it is just the beginning.
“Africa is a little bit behind, but we are catching up quickly,” remarked Kariuki.
He said Sagana is increasingly becoming a hub for various paddle sports.
“For instance, Sagana is now not only a rafting Centre but also a canoe and kayak course. We have been approached by the International Canoe Federation, which has since rebranded as Paddle Worldwide, to host an Olympic qualifier for Africa as well as the African Championships. We shall be there to assist them in achieving their goals next year.”
Having a rafting bloc in the sub-Saharan region would not only strengthen the sport but also help empower the continent’s young population by creating employment opportunities and enabling African athletes and rafting professionals to export their skills to other parts of the world.
“There are opportunities out there in the world. For instance, the President of United Rafting, Danilo Barmez, has requested that we send 20 Kenyans to work in Italy next year. Those are job opportunities,” said Kariuki.
“Europe is ageing and there are not enough workers, while Africa has a young and growing population. That is why we are taking advantage of this opportunity to train as many people as possible to work in North America, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Asia, including China, Malaysia and Singapore, where they can pursue careers in rafting.
“So, it is a great opportunity.”
The proposed East, Central and Southern African rafting bloc is expected to bring together countries including Kenya, Uganda, South Sudan, Djibouti, Rwanda, Burundi, Sudan, Ethiopia, Somalia, Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Malawi and Mozambique.
Some of the continent’s notable rivers and water bodies that could help put African rafting on the global map include the River Nile in Uganda, the Blue Nile in South Sudan, the Zambezi River in Zambia and Zimbabwe, the Omo River in Ethiopia and the Tana River in Kenya.
