USF keen on promoting other aquatic disciplines

As part of their five-year strategic plan, the Uganda Swimming Federation (USF) will start to promote other aquatic disciplines like Water Polo, artistic swimming, and diving.

This was revealed by the USF vice president-technical Tony Kasujja during a swimming media clinic held at the Eritine Swimming Pool in Buwate on Saturday.

The annual clinic is organized by the federation to enlighten journalists about the sport and to give them tips about the latest trends, and how best to cover the sport.

Kasujja said the federation is keen on growing the sport beyond Kampala by developing coaching systems for the upcountry swimmers and promoting other aquatic disciplines like water polo, and synchronized swimming, among others.

“Marketing the sport of swimming is the task at hand,” Kasujja noted.

Kasujja lectured the journalists about the selection criteria for swimmers for international duty as well as the point system from which swimmers accumulate points to form a basis for selection, noting that those with more points from the different international events stand a better chance for selection.

Talking about competitions, he said the federation will, on top of the planned league that will be held over three legs, also hold the national championship and national primary and secondary school competitions. International events will include the CANA Zone 3 and Zone 4 championships whose participation is funded by the parents of the swimmers, Africa Games, and Africa Juniors Championships among others.

Makhutum Muziransa who heads the federation media committee advised fellow journalists to dig deep into the different untold stories from the sport and reminded them that what matters in competitions is the time the athletes make, the records, and the personal bests.

The USF 2023 – 2027 USF Strategic Plan will focus on the following 5 (five) Pillars: Athletes’ Growth and Development; Capacity Building for Technical and Administrative Personnel; Financial Sustainability and Management for the USF; Regional Growth of Aquatics and Infrastructural Development and Corporate Governance and Sport Administration.

Apart from organising National Championships and Federations Events and Competitions; some of the objectives of the USF are to increase and or encourage the increase in the number of facilities for Aquatics Disciplines throughout Uganda with the support of the Government, sports enterprises, and development partners as well as creating awareness, encourage mass participation in Aquatics, and promote public safety.