Aga Khan, DIA to feature in IST sports tourney

Dar es Salaam. Swimming, rugby and football events involving school teams from Kenya, Mainland Tanzania and Zanzibar are today expected to spice up the International School of Tanganyika (IST) Sports Weekend competition to be held at the school grounds at Upanga.

The teams are Aga Khan School from Mombasa, Dar es Salaam International Academy (DIA), St. Constantine’s ( Arusha), Braeburn , Latham, Heaven of Peace Academy (Hopac), Morogoro International School, International School of Moshi (ISM), International School of Zanzibar (ISZ) and the hots, IST.

IST Elementary Activities Coordinator Megan Hardeman said Rippo rugby will open the competition at 2pm. Rippa rugby is non-contact hybrid of rugby which promotes ball-handling and running skills.

There is also a possibility of involving a tackle rugby team in the competition if there will sufficient numbers and coaches available.

Hardeman said athletes will tomorrow compete in a swimming competition while swimmers under 11, U-10 and under nine football players will also be in action.

Another swimming competition will be for U-9, U-8, and U-7 as football is for U-10 to U-11. Disco will also spice up the events.

She said swimmers will compete in 50 meter backstroke, breaststroke, freestyle and butterfly styles respectively. There will also be a 100 meter Individual Medley (IM) open competition for the swimmers aged 11 and under.

“We expect thrilling competitions as all athletes have been prepared well, targeting to win gold medals.

DIA trainer Michael Livingstone said they feel proud of having the best athletes for over the past six years in a row. He said during the period they were able to win the title three times before finishing second twice and third once.

“We have capable athletes like Viva Punjari (7) and Hussain Abdurrahman (9), who have shown good performance in the school team. We hope it will be tough, but we aim at victory,” said Livingstone. Besides that, he said they have good Rippo Rugby players as well as football players who are in top morale ahead of the competitions.

“It is a good forum for DIA to meet other schools and gauge their skills. We call upon parents to turn up and give our team support,” he said.