Volleyball Cranes check into Kigali

The national men’s volleyball team, the Volleyball Cranes, arrived in Kigali, Rwanda in the wee hours of Saturday morning ahead of the African Nations Volleyball Championships.
With travellers from Uganda subjected to a seven-day quarantine on arrival in Kigali, the team chose to travel early to ensure there are no disruptions.
“It was important that we travel early because of the quarantine in Rwanda,” Ahmed Kigunddu, the team manager, told Daily Monitor on arrival.
The entire contingent is now in isolation at the Hilltop Hotel.
The team was subjected to a mandatory Covid-19 test and all members of the contingent returned negative results.
Rwandan authorities demand that teams desist from attempting to train during the seven days in quarantine and this worries head coach Shilla Omuriwe Buyungo, who now hopes for a waiver to allow her charges some time on the floor training.
“We need to get cleared as soon as possible so we can resume our training,” Omuriwe said.
“We need to train because we can’t afford to regress,” she added.
The national men’s basketball team, Silverbacks, who are also in Kigali for the Fiba Afrobasket Championship, only stayed in isolation for three days after the two tests conducted on all members returned negative Covid-19 results.
The Volleyball Cranes will now have to wait for a second test to confirm to Rwandan authorities that there is no Covid-19 threat before thinking about the waiver.
There hasn’t been much volleyball played in Uganda the last two years and the few weeks of training ahead of the championship have not been easy for the players to get back into their rhythm.
With the championship volleying off September 5, it is a race against time for the Cranes to be in the best shape for competitive volleyball.
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