The National Olympic Committee of Kenya has petitioned the government to lift some of the restrictions affecting sporting activities in the country.
In the fight against the spread of coronavirus, the government banned all sporting activities indefinitely but now Nock says affiliate members are eager to return to action even if it is strictly training.
Nock acting secretary-general, Francis Mutuku, said some of their affiliates involved in non-contact sports like badminton, tennis and swimming feel that they should be allowed to return to action.
“Some of the international federations have sent guidelines to their local affiliates on how to resume sport during and after the pandemic,” said Mutuku.
He added that there is no timeline on when the government will respond due to the severity of the pandemic in the country but consultations will soon start.
“We are cognizant of the tough situation we are in but we are talking with the Ministry of Sports, whom we expect to give us a way forward. However, we don’t know when,” added Mutuku.
Mutuku observed that golf players have also expressed their inability to train while Tennis Kenya secretary-general, Wanjiku Mbugua put in a word for her federation.
“A sport like tennis, where players are 30 feet apart, has no contact whatsoever. We have received guidelines from the International Tennis Federation on what we need to do and I believe we can adhere to them,” said Mbugua.
However, she added, the guidelines are only for practice, not tournaments.
“We can’t host any event until the pandemic is over but we hope the government will listen to us and hopefully give us the green light to resume training," she added.
The ITF has said the earliest tournaments can resume worldwide is July. Several local and international tournaments have been postponed due to the pandemic.
To mitigate some of the effects of the pandemic, Tennis Kenya last week donated foodstuffs to 60 families, through the Junior Tennis Initiative at the Nairobi Club.
