MOMBASA SPORTS CLUB NEWSLETTER

Volume 3 Issue 4 APRIL 2002

P. O. Box 90241, Mombasa. Tel 224226, 224705. Fax 313757. E-mail: msc1896@ikenya.com

GENERAL:

Welcome to yet another year at Mombasa Sports Club.

The club election have come and gone and the new office bearers and committee is in saddle.

Congratulation to the members for the maturity and commitment shown towards ensuring that the elections were smooth.

Congratulation also to the outgoing committee for a job well done.

For the incoming committee led once again by Mr. Job J. Weloba the baton in your hands calls for continued dedication to the club and further improvement of its varied spheres of interaction. A year can be short and action starts right away so that with Gods blessing come March, 2003 you shall all look back to another year of advancement for our club.

The following are duly elected committee members of Mombasa Sports Club for the year 2002:-

Chairman - Mr. Job J. Weloba

Vice Chairman - Dr. Lado P. Jaden

Hon. Secretary - Mr. James Omwando

Hon. Treasurer - Mr. Vivek Mehta

Committee Members - Mr. Mukund Yardi

“ “ - Mr. James Kirathe

“ “ - Mr. Hatim Bana

“ “ - Mr. Dominic Makau

CHAIRMAN’S REPORT YEAR 2001 - 2002

Fellow Club member’s ladies and gentlemen.

I take this privileged opportunity to welcome you to the 106^th Annual General Meeting of our Club.

May I first request you all to be upstanding in observing a minute silence to the memory and honour of the following departed members of our fraternity.

(i) R.G. Rajani - Club Trustee

(ii) Mrs. K.K. Chohan - Member

(iii) Ali Bidu - Member

(iv) Stanley Mwadime - Member

(v) Duncan Owiso - Member

(vi) Fakruddin Essajee - Member

One year ago, I and the Management Committee in accepting the honourable task of managing this club set out to:-

- Improve the quality and variety of services offered at the Club

- Emphasize on and enhance the fellowship and harmony of our membership

- Improve on our existing facilities to match the status of the Club

- Give value to our membership

I shall proceed to review the year’s activities briefly for record.

FINANCE

It is a matter of public notoriety that the financial and economic atmosphere in the country has been bleak and we have not been exempted.

We started the year with a deficit of about Kshs.1,900,000 and have faced a myriad of hardships in generating and maintaining income to meet out goal of improving the facilities and quality of service in the club.

We have experienced growing lists and amounts of defaulters, an increased staff wage bill that went up by another 9% heavy retirement dues incurred for two of our staff as well as the erroneous (though later reversed) VAT levy of upto Kshs.1,689,090 which we paid to avoid harsh penalties.

On the income side we did experience sharp drop in earnings on the fixed deposits, relatively lower patronage and bar sales.

All this viewed against the expenditure incurred on the inevitable new development projects detailed elsewhere in my address have seriously exposed the inadequacy of our income base.

However we have viewed this grim picture as an opportunity for us to correct our excesses and inefficiencies rather than despair and countered it by

(a) Implementing a tighter:- and accountable purchasing and expenditure policy that is based on budgets and broader quotations both at the section and club levels.

(b) Implementing a credit limit policy to reduce the exposure on defaulters and putting in place criteria for credit that operates as credit gauges.

(d) Bringing the maintenance cost down but within the objectives of maintaining quality.

(e) Supplementing club income with selectively chosen functions that attracted both patronage and sponsorship and inevitably market the club.

These measures have had their effect of enabling us to barely break even but certain problems still exist, sample these:-

(i) the club’s exposure to retiring staff is about 4,860,000 and increasing by 500,000 p.a.

(ii) the larger part of day-to-day running costs of the club are being met by entrance fees.

(iii) Invariably new projects are being funded by donations and funds from external bodies (corporate).

In a nutshell the experience of the year calls for a fresh look at our generation of funds to run the Club and a projection ahead if we have to maintain the standards achieved this far and undertake new project.

I shall for now leave the finer articulation of these matters to the Hon. Treasurer in his report.

MEMBERSHIP

Our membership has somewhat stagnated in numbers but still enjoys internal dynamism in classifications and movement.

At the beginning of the year the Club Membership was as follows:-

Full………………………… 962

Single……………………….. 305

Junior……………………….. 212

Honorary life……………….. 8

Nominated Sporting……….. 43

Temporary…… ……………. 9___

Total 1539

As at 18^th March, 2002 the membership stood at :-

Family……………………… 931

Single………………………. 305

Junior………………………. 210

Nominated Sporting………... 21

Hon. Life Member…………. 3____

Total 1,470

This reflects a drop of 69 members which figures are erroneous in themselves in telling the story of our membership. There have been several movements in the course of the year regarding the respective categories most notable being the loss of members through defaulting, emigration and the decision by family members to opt for single memberships.

However taking into considerations the facilities available, the total membership number is in the Committee’s assessment optimum and care should be taken to match any increments with the facilities available.

However of import herein is the fact that the usage and patronage of the Club has been far from indicative of the above figures. Indeed there are about 250 members who regularly patronize the Club and so to speak, drink or eat their way to the good health of the Club. This is not a good sign for the financial, social and sporting health of our Club and I would urge for more involvement from the silent majority if only to avert their being asked to pay proxy fees.

Regrettably it is again only a fraction out of the 250 or so who repeatedly propose new members into the Club and invariably are limited by the two candidate proposal rule. If indeed we are all proud of our club and confident of our friends integrity we should endeavour to increase the number of applications for membership because this is the only way we can grow and maintain the dynamism of the club.

Another aspect of our membership that has been of concern is our participation in the affairs and administration of this Institution. The “Complaints and Suggestions” book has regrettably out of usage been transformed into “The Complaints” book. Reading through it, which I challenge you to do, gives one the impression that this great Club is crumbling with errors and defaults without any hope for a way out or forward.

True, this is not a perfect Club and neither should we aspire it to be, but equally, the affairs of a Club as big, diverse and old as this cannot be left to the sole discretion and dictates of a Chairman or Management Committee. It therefore behoves the general membership to come with new ideas and suggestions on various issues for the Management implementation apart from only solving problems. This will enable the Management of the day to tap on the vast potential that exists in the Club to make it what we all want it to be.

In the upshot therefore I urge the membership to be proactive rather than reactive and avoid instances few though, of dwelling too much on the shortcomings of the day at the expense of preparation for tomorrow.

TRUSTEE BOARD

One of our Trustees Mr. K.K. Chohan retires, on having attained the retirement age after serving this Club with distinction for over 32 years both at Section Club and trustee level. On behalf of the entire membership I thank him and wish him well.

We also lost one of the Trustee Mr. R.G. Rajani through a fatal attack on him and have appointed Mr. Brown Ondego in his place.

NEW DEVELOPMENT

In line with the objective of improving services and facilities the Committee focused on areas that would promote usage, patronage and attract finances through sponsorships whether initiated by the Committee or individual sections.

The expansion of the Tennis Courts to the International Tennis Federation Standards at a cost of about Kshs.900,000 has put the Club in good stead to host prestigious and lucrative tournaments such as the Davis Cup (February, 2002) and others due down the year.

The purchase of lounge furniture has also gone along way to improve the ambiance and comfort of our lounge.

Purchase of a DVD system has also increased the quality of our Sunday movies.

The recent approval to purchase modern and better gym equipment should ensure that the fast growing and popular section is evenly matched with the competition around.

The successful launch of a club website should ensure that we technologically in step and accessible internationally and instantaneously. Incidentally I am reliably informed that ours is the first Sports Club in the country to achieve this status.

Unfortunately our attempts at introducing aerobics classes failed miserably due to lack of appropriate facilities despite the overwhelming enthusiasm shown and if anything deserve another attempt.

Other areas being critically reviewed are:-

(i) Corporate membership

(ii) Up-country membership

(iii) Advertising as a mode of generating income

All of which require a thorough brainstorming and digestion before any decisions can be sought and your contributions should be unrestrained in this regard.

CATERING AND ENTERTAINMENT

Picking up from the last Committee efforts have been made to bring the catering standards in line with the expectations of the membership.

Several options were looked into ranging from running the kitchen ourselves to changing caterers but eventually a realisation that the communication and coordination between the caterer(s) and the Management was not in tandem was reached, prompting the option to first put our act in order before re-evaluating the situation. To these end and arising from several meetings with the Caterer(s) certain terms and regulations of service were drawn up and an appraisal system put in place.

These development have of necessity been gradual and allowed time for adaptation which I hope will start showing results soon if not yet.

Further and in the same vein changes to Caterers have been implemented where necessary to ensure compliance and we hope for constant feedback on this.

On entertainment, a deliberate effort was made to avail as much as practicable to the members, occasions when they can celebrate their membership at minimal if not zero cost.

Thus the occasional musical nights with disco music, the Cultural Night, Sports fun day, Diwali Night, Valentine Night, Children’s party, Easter weekend disco, singing along with Kish and the New Year’s Eve bash were all underlined with the entertainment of members in mind.

Needless to say and as mentioned elsewhere, these functions were ably hosted by various sections and subcommittees to whom the ultimate credit must go.

I would fail in not giving the biggest credit to the membership for turning out in such large numbers for all these functions and easily surpassing previous years. Indeed the ending year is easily rated as one of the most entertaining and socially active at the Club in recent years.

SPORTS

We have had mixed performance in that some sections have tottered on the brink of collapse while others have excelled beyond expectation.

(1) Tennis :- By and large the “Section of the Year” if there be such a term have exemplified the spirit and potential of Mombasa Sports Club. They have ably hosted a total of at least Eight (8) tournament namely, the American Doubles (Feb ‘01) Veterans Tournament (May ‘01) Mombasa Junior Tournament (July ‘01), ITF 14 and under (August ‘01), Coast Open (Sept ‘01), Masters Event (Sept ‘01), (LTA Mini Tournament (Oct ‘01) and last but certainly not least the Davis Cup Euro Africa Group IV Tournaments in (Feb ‘02) which featured a record number of TEN (10) NATIONS in total surpassing any other event by the Club

Of special significance is the junior programme being run by the Section that has become a feeder to the Club side and the number of Tournaments that have specifically targeted the youth. This is an achievement, which if emulated by other sections will go a long way in not only supplying good quality sportsmen for our Club sides but ensuring that past achievements are maintained if not bettered.

Special accolade to the Section Committee for having ably hosted the Davis Cup Tournament despite withdrawal of upto US Dollars 10,000 (US Dollars Ten Thousand Only) in sponsorship at the last minute a feat that earned the Club respect and recognition from the KLTA Chairman and the Davis Cup Organising Committee.

SQUASH

Perhaps the busiest section in terms of hours of usage and intensity, the Section has retained its traditional tournaments of their Coast Open and the Club Handicap Tournament as the only two events this last year and opted into social games as well as promotion of new players.

This has seen the almost abrupt and hurried but well thought out hosting of the Valentines Night by the Section turn into a success with a large turnout. One hopes that the “shocking” success of this event will not be looked at as an end by the section, but as a sign of what could be achieved with elaborate groundwork.

The Section has also implemented coaching sessions by the attendant Mr. Onesmus Muthee which should promote the popularity of the game and standards.

Finally my and the committee’s apologies for the effects of using the courts for aerobics trials and appreciation for your forbearance and understanding while it lasted.

GYM & AEROBICS

A section that has lived upto its nature in terms of energy, aggression and enthusiasm. Established only this year as a fully fledged section, they “muscled” themselves into the vacancy left by the Rugby Section in hosting the African Night (dubbed by them the Cultural Night) and came out with a fine and wide blend of events that not only depicted the cosmopolitan nature of the Club but tapped on the expertise and potential of non-section members. By all standards this was a bright and robust start that should be maintained by the Section and hopefully be met with equal energy by the next Management Committee. The usage of the gym is growing quite fast and is an area that calls for urgent attention in terms of expansion.

The Section is working out ways of improving standards of hygiene and usage of the gym as well as modernise the equipment and facilities. They have in their sight projections to have an ultra modern gymnasium complete with health club and swimming pool. An ambitious plan but so is Mombasa Sports Club I believe.

CRICKET

The section has sustained its youth programme which by all standards is now coming of age and there is a marked drop in the “average age” of the section based on youth finely blended with the older guard. The long trousers and hats as well as the distance of the green from the pavillion have all worked well in camouflaging the older guards to the casual eye. On the ground there has been commendable delegation of responsibilities to the younger members, exemplified during the hosting of arguably the most successful “Diwali Night” in town and recent years. Hats off to the Section Convenor and Captain for this initiative.

The schools programme run by the Section has continued not only to encourage growth but play an important public relations role for the entire club and is commended.

Once again the section has effectively participated in the Coast league coming out 3^rd in an enlarged league of six as well as hosting notable international sides such as the West Indies National Team, the MCC Tour Side as well as various British Navy Ship sides either for matches or in games against the Kenyan national team.

Their keen interest and commitment towards the section has gone a long way in ensuring that our cricket green continues to be highly rated and an automatic choice for high level games in Mombasa if not Kenya.

RUGBY

The section continues to be a force to reckon with in the Kenyan Rugby scene despite the numerous obstacles they face.

The year has been plagued with worrying financial shortfalls against the huge travel expenses. This year we did manage to honour the national league fixtures which were somewhat reduced and ended up sixth overall.

However the toll of constant travel, departure of the Fijian players and retirement of the older guard has exposed the inexperience in the side which has been targetted for action.

The annual Driftwood Tournament was again successfully hosted attracting teams both local and international with the Club side honourably bowing out at the semi-final stage. A member of the Section Newton Ongalo was selected to the Kenya Team for both the Dubai Sevens and Tusker Safari Sevens where his skill and performance won him admiration and contention for man - of – the - match award.

Sadly though for once the section did not host the annual dinner dance or the traditional African Night I hope this will be an exception rather than the rule.

BASKETBALL

Hockey and basketball have remained inactive in both league and social aspects for reasons deemed to be beyond the outgoing officials control.

Several meetings initiated by the Management Committee to find resolution are yet to bear fruit and I hope the new section officials will take up the issues to reverse this trend.

FOOTBALL

Jealously guarding their record of the largest fixture list, the section has done it again, playing a total of over 100 matches, in the year.

The games still remain largely social or friendly games (rumour has it that this is to accommodate some club official in the side) save for the Bardruddin Punjani Memorial Cup in which the Club side participated bowing out honourably before the finals. The section finally broke through the boundaries of the Club after a long time with a trip to Lamu where they comfortably won all their matches.

BRIDGE

The bridge sessions are loud in their silence of procedures yet looking at their fixtures one wonders why there has to be so much noise accompanying the squash serves and returns Bridge has successfully again represented the Club ably by hosting eleven (11) monthly Tournaments apart from participating in the Coca Cola, Charity Challenge, Summit Fibres, Coast Bridge Association, Mombasa Sports Club Bridge Sections and D.D. Doshi Memorial Tournaments. Two Club Members P. Saula and Harkubhai came 20^th out of 6000 pairs in the WBF Worldwide Simultaneous Pairs Championships played in Mombasa. Congratulations to these two members.

LADIES HOCKEY

The Section has equally been plagued with poor attendance and low membership. They managed to participate in one Tournament in Nairobi attaining fourth position overall. Otherwise the inactivity and low membership remains worrying and calls for concerted efforts to remedy.

BOWLING

Anyone reading the Club Newsletter regularly would not be mistaken to think that Mombasa Sports Club is largely a bowling Club due to the consistent and detailed coverage by the section of their comprehensive fixture list. Among the year’s achievements are the successful hosting of a total Seventeen tournaments.

Mrs. Tara Shah represented Kenya in the AST ladies Tournament in Namibia. Congratulations for keeping the Club flag high on the international scene. The departure of Manmohan Ahluwalia Raj Arova and Rajeu Kheterpal has been a blow to the Section but hopefully appropriate replacements shall be sought.

However and of import here also is the keen support and detail readily availed by the section in ensuring the proper and consistent upkeep of the green. The initiative taken by the green keeper is worth emulating if the management of the Club facilities is indeed to be top of the range.

SNOOKER

Has successfully hosted several local and internal tournaments in the year successfully and continued to attract more and more members.

DARTS has remained inactive.

All in all, with the various sections busy and focused on their programmes the only lament became the fact that we were starting to look more and more like small clubs within the club. It is for this reason that the Management Committee at the prompting of the Vice Chairman Mr. Vijay Bij initiated the “fun games” aimed at bringing the members of all sections together in one day of common games and interaction on 10.10.01.

These games despite the short notice and inadequate publicity turned out to be a major success involving both young and old. Much credit to Mr. Vijay Bij for organising them and the resourceful input of Mr. & Mrs. Kishore Shah & Shefali Shah among others. It is hoped that they can be translated into an annual event to promote section interactions.

In concluding I would l like to thank the entire staff, Management Committee members, the Club Membership at large and last but not least my wife for the support, encouragement, criticism and company that has been extended to me down the year and say that if there are any achievements made, I owe them to you.

I and the Management Committee have tried to serve with humility and conscientiously. We have also endeavoured to spend minimal time in conceding our shortcomings and more time in pursuing the way forward. However if in these endeavours of applying our discretion and judgement anybody has been wronged, it is highly regretted for it was well intended and devoid of personal or preconceived motives.

May I now introduce to you the Committee to whom I owe so much and whose shoulders I stood in discharging my duties:-

(i) Immediate Past Chairman Lt. Col. (Rtd.) H. Kelly

(ii) Vice-Chairman Mr. Vijay Bij

(iii) Hon. Secretary Dr. Lado Jaden

(iv) Hon. Treasurer Mr. Vivek Mehta

(v) Convenor Catering & Entertainment Mr. James Kirathe

(vi) Convenor Maintenance Mr. Mukund Yard

(vii) Convenor New Development Mr. Bhupinder Birgi

(viii) Convenor Membership Mr. James Omwando

(ix) Bar Convenor Mr. Dominic Makau

(x) Member Mr. Hatim Bana

(xi) Member Mr. David Mwashumbe

Finally to the Sportsman of the Year Award.

In considering his:-

(i) Active and committed involvement in youth development programmes of not only his section but other sections as well.

(ii) Initiative and personal mobilisation in attracting sponsorship and donations towards sports in the Club generally.

(iii) Role in facilitating and providing technical support towards upgrading sporting facilities in the Club.

I have the honour to nominate as the Sportsman of the year 2001 - 2002 MR. ZAHIR JIWAN

THE SHIMBA SUPPORT GROUP (SSG)

The Shimba Support Group came into being in the millennium year, 2000. A small group of private sector wildlife and environmental enthusiasts got together with the Senior Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) Warden in charge of the Shimba Hills National Reserve, and they decided that in view of the poor gate revenues coming into the Reserve something needed to be done to revive its attractiveness to potential visitors. The concept of a supportive, auxiliary organization is not new in Kenya – witness Friends of Nairobi National Park. of Hell gate N P, of Tsavo N P, and so on. We just decided we’d like to name ourselves differently!

The objective of SSG are expressed in Newsletter No. 1 in December 2000 as follows:

i. To enhance wildlife and habitat conservation in the Reserve;

ii. To create public awareness, and to win local support;

iii. To promote a pool of diverse knowledge and skills to assist the Reserve.

So far we have sourced a donor organization, which has sponsored the total renovation and in some cases rebuilding of the tourist facilities within the Reserve, all of which had fallen into an appalling state of repair due to KWS’s financial constraints. We have facilitated the importation into the Reserve of new wildlife species – Impala and Ostrich may now be viewed on the grasslands, and the Giraffe herd will shortly be strengthen by the arrival of some females. A new circuit has been opened up through the magnificent Mwele Mdogo forest; probably one of the finest indigenous forest drives in the country. In order to further diversify the activities offered to visitors, the Shimba Safari Walk is planned and should shortly be operational. Hikers will descend to the splendidly scenic Sheldrick Falls then proceed on foot into the south, finally entering a cool shady site on the Mkurumuji River bank for a picnic snack. Plans for the future include involvement with the proposed contraception scheme for the Reserve’s female elephant population, the arrest of the sable antelope decline, and the importation of more animal species. In addition SSG is involved in proposals to create a plantation buffer zone outside the electric fence, which will benefit the Reserve’s peripheral farming communities through the eventual harvesting of timber and honey.

Currently, SSG has 138 individuals and 9 Corporate Members, most of whom come from the local community. Although there are also a handful from the UK, USA, Germany and Austria. New Members are always welcome and full details may be obtained by contacting:

SSG, c/o Baobab Trust, P. O. Box 81995, Mombasa

Tel.011 – 486155 Extn.290 E-mail: baobabtrust@swiftmombasa.com

SECTION REPORTS:

BOWLING:

The bowling green opened on 5^th March 2002 after 4 weeks of complete maintenance i.e. it was repaired and for top soiling.

The Coast Open Bowling Tournament 2002, one of the major National Tournaments was played at the Mombasa Sports Club during Easter Holidays.

As per the licence from Kenya Bowling Association, only 32 players could take part. There were 26 bowlers from up country. Mombasa had big entries but had to have play offs early to limit the 32 entries. Mombasa will be putting up only 8 bowlers. All the top bowlers were taking part.

The Fours was being played on league basis and the Pairs, a knockout.

The first day in the morning , it was Fours played in two groups, and went on as expected. In the afternoon, the Pairs knockout was exciting and unfortunately, two teams of Mombasa were meeting against each other and the team of Raman & Mahanjan won against K. P. Shah & Aftab. The other Mombasa team of C.C. Shah & Tara lost against Nairobi.

On the second day in the Pairs, the Mombasa Pairs was knocked out thus competition amongst upcountry players only.

In the Fours, Mombasa ‘s team of K. P. Shah, Raman Patel, Natu Nathwani & Hamida Walijee won their game, and were surviving to reach the final, remaining with one game. In the same group, team of Maureen Burns, Seamus Burns, Geoff Collie & Eric Langton – also won their second game. In the other group, team of Stamp, Sheelagh Zagoritis, Patrick Hughes & Margaret Hughes from Muthaiga Country Club got their both games.

On the third day in Fours, it was the tussle between Mombasa & Nairobi. It was very competitive and Nairobi won on the last wood of the day. In the other group, the team on Ian Stamp went through easily for the finals. In the pairs, the semi finals was played between Oliver Fowler & Sheryl Fowler and Peter Hughes & Margaret Hughes while the others one between between Ian Stamp & Sheelah Zagoritis and Andrew & Harry Davis.

The finals winners and runners up were:

FOURS Winners : Maureen Burns, Seamus Burns, Geoff Collie & Eric Langton.

Runners up: Ian Stamp, Sheelah Zagoritis, Patrick Hughes & Margaret Hughes.

PAIRS Winners: Oliver Fowler & Sheryl Fowler Runners up: Ian Stamp & Sheelah Zagoritis

Mombasa were consoled by winning the subsidiary event with the team of Kirti Chhaniyara, Chandu Shah and Francis Murithi.

The Senior Vice Chairman Sheryl Fowler of the Kenya Bowling Association and top bowlers complimented that our bowling green in one of the best in Kenya. It is a prestigious moment for the Mombasa Sports Club to receive such a compliment.

A big asante sana to Simon, Wilson, all the ground staff of Mombasa Sports Club for working hard to maintain the green to its best, Mr. Ngao, the Manager of Mombasa Sports Club and Mr. Munala, the assistant manager and of course the green keeper Natu Nathwani.

The next tournament in the calendar will be Club Trips on the 13^th /14^th April and it could extend to 20^th /21^st April depending on the entries received.

The following are the elected Section Officials for the 2002

Captain Kirti Chhaniyara

Vice Captain Tara Shah

Treasurer Asgar Adamjee

Secretary Aftab Mohamedbhai

Committee Members Raman Patel Dr. S. Dhillon

GOOD BOWLING

GYMNASUIM:

We had our section A.G.M on 27^th February 2002. The following were elected committee members

Captain Kamau Njendu

Secretary Elizabeth Mwashumbe

Treasurer Freda Mwangi

Committee Members Ashok Dave

Kamau Kahiu

John Ochuka

Our Special General Meeting was held on the 12^th March, 2002 in which the Club approved the release of KShs.1 Million for the purchase of the gymnasium equipment. We are happy to let you know that we are now in the final stages of procuring new and hi-tech cardiovascular equipment to replace our old ones and give the gymnasium a facelift that will rank it among the best in Mombasa.

Way Forward

Ä We also have a major capital plan in the pipeline of extending the gymnasium to also include aerobics and possibly a health spar with all the trimming i.e. Sauna, Steam baths etc.

LADIES HOCKEY:

Ladies Hockey 2001 was one of the many worst years ever. This is because we do not have members in the team thus making work very difficult for one person to handle. I love the game same as my fellow players and if it were not for them, I could have given up. All members who are interested in the game are most welcome.

May I take this opportunity to thank this Club for giving us the support from all corners whenever we are stuck in one way or the other. We were given a total sum of Kshs.10,000/- for the Nairobi Tournament in November, which catered for the food and transport within Nairobi. We tried our best to level it out and managed to get 4^th Position.

The Mombasa Sports Club Ladies Hockey is the most disciplined team in 4 years running in Ladies Hockey Association, which has been taken over by Kenya Hockey Union. Whenever you are looking for disciplined ladies, you can always walk to the Hockey pitch. If we are known to be disciplined countrywide, it means it started at home and our home is Mombasa Sports Club.

Fakru Memorial Babla Tournament was scheduled to take place in April, unfortunately, only one team (Sliders) turned up. This was very disappointing and we almost came to a conclusion not to play in the league but tournaments only. We managed to beat sliders 2 – 0. We formed 2 teams (A & B) whereby, they managed to draw 2 – 2. I think this trophy could have remained in Mombasa had it taken place. We are looking forward to hold a successful one in the year 2002.

The last event was car wash, which was perfectly done with the support of the club. We managed to collect a total of Kshs.8,600/-. Don’t you think it was quite encouraging? I am kindly requesting the club to keep on giving us the opportunity of doing the same. Many thanks to the Club Committee members who sat down and gave is a go ahead.

Rebecca Ombewa was elected Captain of the Ladies Hockey for the year 2002

HOCKEY MEN’S:

Elected Section Officials for the year 2002

Captain Bhupinder Birgi

Secretary Naresh Shah

Committee Members Agnelo D’souza

RUGBY:

The season kicks over Easter, MSC play away to Mwamba on the 29^th of April then play HMS Campbelltown on Tuesday 2nd April at 5.00pm at the club. The next game is away to Nakuru on 6th of April. Our first home game is on April 13^th against Impala Rfc and the next weekend we travel again for the first seven aside tournament the Kabeberi sevens on the 20th and 21st of April.

On the 27th of April we have another home game against Mean Machine.

This April we have in summary three games

2nd April 2002          MSC Vs HMS CAMPBELLTOWN         5.00pm FRIENDLY

13th April 2002                  MSC Vs IMPALA                  4.30pm KENYA CUP

27th April 2002                  MSC Vs M. MACHINE                    4.30pm KENYA CUP

The following are the elected section officials for the 2002

Convenor Edwin Obuya

Captain Newton Ongalo

Treasurer Patrick Waa

Secretary Ray Dawa

Committee Members Tom C. Muchura

John Mutua

Caroli Odera

Charith Senanayake