Event: NCBA 2022 Serena Junior Championship
Dates: 15-17 April 2022
Venue: Lake Victoria Serena Golf Resort & Spa, Kigo
After a two-year hiatus caused by Covid-19 disruptions, the NCBA Serena Junior Championship finally teed off on Good Friday (15th April) at the Lake Victoria Serena Golf Resort & Spa par-72 18-hole course in Kigo.
The NCBA 2022 Serena Junior Championship started with a player and parent competition alongside an official practice round. The main event starts on Saturday and winds down on Easter Sunday.
The 2022 staging which is held in partnership with US Kids Golf and Golf for Kids Kenya is a qualifier for the Venice Open scheduled for 18th August 2022 hence youngsters will be eyeing for slots in the Italy meet.
Tournament Director, Emanuel Kasio who also runs Golf for Kids Kenya and a trailblazer in the junior/youth golf arena says that he delights in the return of the championship with the 2020 and 2021 editions having been wasted away by the pandemic and the disruptions it brought.
“This is very special because when Covid-19 stopped most industries from functioning we didn’t know how the future would look life for junior golf…we didn’t know how to restart or what’s going to be our new strategy,” Kasio said during an exclusive interview with this website.
“But two years later, we are back after we revisited the idea and refreshed it,” Kasio noted adding that; “we have brought a high level team to show that the event is special and for the first time we have 100 players participating. So this is special. Our target was 70 but we got 30 more, were grateful, we’re not over ambitious.”
To host a Venice Open qualifier, Kasio says that Lake Victoria Serena’s facility has all the requirements to do so. He adds that previous junior events held on the same course were successful.
To qualify for the Venice Open, Kasio says that there’s a clear pathway for players.
“There’s a formula we use, we don’t use a rank, we use scoring. I can be ranked number one but my score might not meet international requirements or I can be ranked number five and my score meets international requirements…it’s surely based on scores, it’s like making a cut,” Kasio said.
The event is graced by players aged 5-18 years (boys and girls) from various countries including the Uganda national junior team players.
The tournament field is divided into age groups and every group plays from an age specific yardage. A player’s age on 16th April will determine his/her age group for the duration of the event.
