Eighteen volleyball clubs, including the U-21 national volleyball team, have so far registered to participate in the Genocide Memorial Tournament (GMT), scheduled for June 20-22 at Petit Stade indoor gymnasium. The annual volleyball tournament is organised by Rwanda Volleyball Federation (FRVB) in collaboration with the National Olympic Committee as part of commemoration of the victims of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi. It’s the second time that the national volleyball team will participate in GMT since 2013. Jean Claude Byiringiro the Executive Secretary of FRVB explained that the U21 national team’s participation is a part of the preparations ahead to the 2025 African nations volleyball championship. The GMT tournament has also attracted clubs from neighbouring countries. Such teams include Chazpir VC, Sport-s VC (men's and women's teams), KCB-Nkumba VC, Ndejje Elite VC, and Vision VC from Uganda. Chema VC of Kenya will also participate. ALSO READ: Volleyball as a healing tool: The story of Alphonse Bayingana According to recent communication from FRVB, the GMT was initially scheduled for last weekend, June 6-8. However, due to the Kigali Peace Marathon, which was underway in Remera, the tournament was postponed. Consequently, the deadline for clubs to register or withdraw from the tournament was moved to June 16 from May 30. Rwandan clubs registered to participate in the memorial tournament, in both women's and men's categories, include the U21 men's national team, Gisagara VC, Kepler VC (women's and men's), Police (men's and women's), and Rwanda Revenue Authority (RRA). In the previous GMT, Police (men) and APR (women) volleyball clubs triumphed, claiming the 2024 volleyball Genocide Memorial Tournament after edging Gisagara and Rwanda Revenue Authority (RRA) respectively in the finals.
