•Taekwondo coaches have lost hundreds of thousands of revenue due to closure of schools during Covid-19
•Private schools have been their best-paying clients although they also coach in public schools and colleges
Image: WILFRED NYANGARESI
As rumours continue swirling that schools will reopen in October, taekwondo coaches can not wait.
The coaches say Covid-19 has cost them hundreds of thousands of coaching revenue. “I used to coach about 100 students across seven schools. In a span of three months, I could make approximately Sh500,000,” Maxwell Owinga, one of the taekwondo coaches says.
With this kind of money, Owinga says many coaches have been able to live comfortable lives that have been disrupted due to the closure of schools.
"The Corona pandemic has opened our eyes to the need to identify more income generating opportunities. Most coaches have been depending on these schools to make a living and were thus really affected when they were closed," Owinga said.
Although they also coach at public schools and colleges, private schools, especially international ones, have been their biggest goldmine in as far as income generating is concerned.
"We have been really affected as a result of the financial challenges affecting private schools. In public schools, we may charge as low as Sh50 per student compared to at least Sh2,000 in the private ones," Owinga says.
Benson Voiya, who provides taekwondo lessons at five schools is, however, apprehensive that the situation will immediately improve when schools reopen.
"Because of the cash crunch that is affecting parents and even schools, the number of students we were coaching might reduce. The safety regulations imposed by the respective schools means that it will take time before we are able to conduct sessions," he says.
Voiya, who doubles up as the Nairobi County taekwondo chair, faulted the government for categorising the sport as high contact. "Even under normal circumstances, we wear safety gears to ensure there is minimal contact during contests. Compared to rugby and football, it does not involve much contact," he says.
Sports resumption guidelines issued by Sports CS Amina Mohamed on Friday last week decreed that taekwondo— alongside other high contact disciplines, such as karate, boxing, football, rugby and swimming— will not be allowed to resume in the interim.
However, Voiya said they have been observing the safety regulations issued by the Ministry of Health even before the issuance of the guidelines.
"We had decided that we are not going to hold any tournaments in the meantime. That is the position of the international federation. During our training, we have also observed social distance where members have mostly been training individually," he says
The two coaches hope parents will not be too skeptical to enrol their children for taekwondo classes considering the trail of deaths and infections Covid-19 has left in its path.
"The schools may not have any problem so long as the parents are willing to allow their children resume classes. Personally, there are parents who have asked me to coach their children privately. So, that has somehow helped me to cope with the situation," Owingasays.