A total of 31 volleyball teams will participate in this year’s edition of Father Kayumba memorial tournament, a competition held annually in memory of Father Emmanuel Kayumba, a late educator who played an instrumental role in the growth of volleyball in schools.

Kayumba, a former headmaster of Groupe Scolaire Officiel de Butare (GSOB) is praised for his contribution to volleyball not only at the school but also at the national level.

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Thanks to the work he did before he passed on in 2009, GSOB produced top talents like Olivier Ntagengwa, Bonnie Mutabazi, Peter Kamasa, Flavien Ndamukunda, Guillaume Irakarama, Yves Mutabazi, Nelson Murangwa and so on.

The two-day tournament will take place on Saturday and Sunday at GSOB, attracting both professional and non-professional teams.

According to Father Charles Hakizimana, the headmaster of GSOB, the competition will bring together 15 teams for the general category (seven in the men’s category and eight in the women’s), in addition to multiple teams that will play in the veterans’ and juniors’ categories.

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The men’s teams include Police, Kepler, Nyanza, UR Nyarugenge, UR, Kigali Volleyball Club, and East Africa University. In the women's category, Police, APR, RRA, IPRC Kigali, E.S. Kansi, East Africa University, Ruhango, and UR will be competing.

Five teams will be competing in veterans’ category. These include Indatwa, Buffle Fort VC, Ibisi Friends, Nyanza, and Umucyo.

For the juniors’ category, the tourney will attract teams like Indatwa, Petit Seminaire de Karubanda, College Christ Roi de Nyanza, Gisagara Academy, College Saint Ignance Mugina, Gitisi TTS, Nyanza TTS, Rusumo High School, Umutara Polytechnic and GS St Joseph.

The previous edition of the tournament was won by Police Volleyball Club, both in the men’s and women’s category.

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Meanwhile, the tournament will also feature a bicycle race for children under 15 years of age. The riders will do a 30km race around Huye town.