The national sitting volleyball teams (men and women) have begun non-residential training camps ahead of the forthcoming ParaVolley Africa Championships in Kenya. The 2017 edition is scheduled to run from May 15-22 at the Moi International Sports Centre, Safaricom gymnasium in Nairobi. The Women team assistant coach Jean Marie Nsengiyumva revealed that players began a non-residential training at the National Paralympic Committee (NPC) Gymnasium in Remera. Residential training will be held a week before heading to Kenya. “We are now conducting a two-day non-residential training camp every week, mostly over the weekends, but we expect to have a residential training camp before we depart,” he said. Over 15 countries are expected to participate in both the men’s and women’s categories, with the champions in each category qualifying for the 2018 World Championships to be held in The Hague, Netherlands. Nsengiyumva noted that, “Our target is clear, we want to compete at the World Championships and I think we have a good chance because of our experience playing in international competitions.” In 2015, Rwanda hosted ParaVolley World Championships and went on to win the women category thus becoming the first African country to qualify for the Paralympic Games in Rio. With the heavy load of shouldering Africa’s hopes, Rwanda’s debut ended with a dismal record after losing four consecutive matches to finish bottom of the eight-team table. The 2015 Africa Paravolley champions lost all their Group B games – against champions China 3-0 (3-25, 25-8, 25-6), Iran 3-0 (10-25, 19-25, 18-25) and the U.S. 3-0 (10-25, 8-25 and 3-25). In the seventh-place play-off, the team lost to Canada 3-0 (21-25, 15-25 and 20-25), hence ending the competition without winning a single set. editorial@newtimes.co.rw
