Sudan shows skill racing on the Nile

The competitors gathered from four African nations – Eritrea, Djibouti, Somalia and Sudan – for racing and a concurrent ten day coaching course. As with last year’s inaugural championships, the event saw competition over 500 metres in the men’s and women’s single sculls and men’s double sculls. Sudanese athletes dominated racing, winning every event. In the women’s single Ebtssam Zakria took first, Sarra Adeil second, and Yorsa Moawia third – all from Sudan. Sudan also had a clean sweep in the men’s single with Abdalla Mohamed placing first, Abdalla Taha second, and Mutaz Osman third.

The double sculls event saw more competition from the other nations, although Sudan stayed on top when their top two scullers, Mohamed and Taha, came together to place first in front of Eritrea’s Hussain Abdo and Ahmed Ibrahim (second) and Somalia’s Ahmed Noor Adam and Asad Mohamed (third).

Racing on the River Nile is  significant in its rowing history. For six thousand years or more, the Nile has buoyed rowers in their activities all along the waterway. The East and Central African Championships hopes to encourage the development of rowing in the region and strengthen the bonds between those who practice it, thus sustaining and continuing the Nile’s rowing history.

Also taking place was a coaching course. Attended by 22 coaches and 14 rowers from the four represented nations the Level 1 course was composed of both theoretical and practical components and aimed to provide the basic knowledge and skills required for effective rowing coaching. This is a big jump in numbers from last year’s course, which saw a total of 26 participants.

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Local organiser, Gibreel Mohamed, a graduated of the United States Olympic Committee’s International Coaching Enrichment Certificate Program (ICECP), said he hoped that numbers would continue to grow and higher level clinics and courses would be offered in the coming years.

Abdulrahim Hamd, President of the Sudanese Rowing and Canoe Federation and the East and Central African Rowing and Canoe Federation, stated in a YouTube video that the aims for both sports in the region are ambitious. “We are going to distribute it throughout stages,” he said. The first stage is training of coaches, officials and administrators and hosting the championships for the Central and East Africa region. From there the region hopes to enhance participation and competitiveness of rowers at increasingly higher level events regionally and globally.

“For Sudan,” said Hamd, “the championships are very important and also the East and Central African Federation”.

The East and Central African Rowing and Canoe Federation includes the countries within the Nile Basin and the Horn of Africa. This vast area extends from the African “Great Lakes” region (Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi, and Rwanda) in the south to the Horn of Africa in the east (Ethiopia, Eritrea, Somalia, and Djibouti) and Sudan in the north.

The championship event is relatively new, but the steady growth of rowing in the region has been years in the making and it is likely that Djibouti will be set later this year to become the newest member of the World Rowing Federation, FISA.