KAMPALA – Uganda’s Rugby Sevens team opened the year with drills at 5,900 ft in the Mount Elgon ranges in Kapchorwa, east of the capital Kampala.
Training at high altitudes is aimed at giving athletes an edge with increased lung capacity, increased lactic acid threshold, increased haemoglobin mass and red cell volume.
The team had previosly trained in the Jinja’s source of the Nile River.
The team is reading for the Olympic qualifiers due in June in Monaco, France, where they will battle 11 others for the last spot to delayed Covid-19 games in Tokyo, Japan.
“I can say that the facility has come in handy from the National Council of Sports -(NCS) and the Rugby Union………I am very sure it is now up to the players to see that we get our bodies in line and fight for our country and for this one slot to qualify for the Olympics,” said Michael Wokorach, the Uganda Sevens captain.
The Rugby Cranes – has up to five months to get in shape and match, countries like Brazil, Chile, Jamaica, Mexico, France, Ireland, Samoa, Tonga, Zimbabwe, China and Hong Kong.
In Monaco, Uganda will compete in a 12-team round-robin format that will see three pools of four teams go head to head.The winners will advance into the knockout stage of the last eight.
Fiji, USA, New Zealand,South Africa as well as hosts Japan have already secured slots at the finals at this prestigious competition.
