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Muthaiga Sports Round-Up & Competition
The Squash section at Muthaiga has had a busy couple of months and the numbers of new players joining our monthly Social Mix-ins are a sign of a growing group of players who are keen to take up the sport. I encourage more Members to join us on the first Wednesday of every month for our Social Mix-ins.
In May we hosted the Wadi Degla Club - a new club which has opened on the Kiambu road - for our first ever fixture with them. Among the visitors’ team were two enthusiastic junior players and although we won 7-1 it was nice seeing youngsters playing competitive matches, something we definitely want to encourage with several clubs around Nairobi.
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At the end of May we held our annual Handicap Tournament. Twelve players entered and each player was allocated a handicap based on their ability. This tournament gives players of differing abilities an equal chance to compete. After the group stages, the tournament was split into the main Cup, Plate and Bowl tournaments, which ended in three extremely competitive finals. In the Bowl (handicaps in brackets) Job Muriuki (4) beat Fabian Collis (2) 3-2
In the Plate Spence Dry (2) beat Christina Andersen (2) 3-2
And in the Handicap Cup Kunal Bid (0) beat Kavan Shah (1) 3-2 Squash Captain Kunal Bid kindly donated the trophies for this tournament and if any Member would like to sponsor a future tournament, please get in touch with him. As well as our monthly Social Mix-ins, we shall also be holding the British Rules Tournament, which is likely to be held around the end of July or early August. Please keep an eye out for the dates.
Right: Handicap Winners. From left - Job Muriuki (Bowl winner), Kunal Bid (Cup Winner) & Spence Dry (Plate Winner.) Kunal Bid
Squash Captain
Competitors from Muthaiga Handicap Tournament. From left - Joseph Kariuki, Rajeev Gandhi, Job Muriuki, Kunal Bid, Kavan Shah, Spence Dry, Christina Andersen & Fabian Collis.
Above: Wadi Degla vs Muthaiga Country Club Teams
COMPETITION
Question: This was once an important building in Nairobi – what was it? Prize: The first correct entry that we receive will win dinner for two with a bottle of House Wine in either Pinks or the Club Dining Room. Please send your answers to
communications@mcc.co.ke
Answer to our April – June 2022 Competition
QUESTION: What is the original name of this street and where is it? And what is it called today?
ANSWER: Moi Avenue (formerly known as First Station Road and later Government Road) now situated within the Central Business District of Nairobi. It is one of the oldest roads in the city and is intersected by Kenyatta Avenue, City Hall Way and Haile Selassie Avenue, running west to east.
This photo was taken sometime in the late 1920s.
Muthaiga Bowler Defends National Ladies Singles Title
Muthaiga bowler, Essie Walker triumphed at the Kenya Bowls National Singles held over the Labour Day weekend at Ruiru Sports Club, to retain her title as Kenya Ladies Champion, which she won in November 2021.
The Ladies’ Competition had nine players split into two pools. In the semi-finals, Essie beat Eunice Mbugua to set up an exciting final against Grace Njuguna. The final score was 21-11.
Essie, who is MCC’s Bowls Vice-Captain, will be representing Kenya at the 2022 World Bowls Ladies Singles Championship in New Zealand in November this year. She is pictured here receiving the National Singles Trophy from Kenya Bowls Chairman, Musembi Mumo.
Club Trips
The Annual Club Trips, generously sponsored by Maria Cunningham, was held over two days. Four teams were selected by random draw and competed in a Round Robin competition. At the end of the weekend, point differences were not large, reflecting the high level of competition demonastrated by MCC’s bowlers, but Oliver Fowler (Skip), Yolanda Andersen (Lead) and Gerry Cunningham (Second) emerged victorious. They are pictured here (from left) with Harvey Herr (Bowls Captain) and Maria Cunnigham (Sponsor).
BOWLING CALENDAR OF EVENTS
Farewell to Former Captain, John Porter
Long-time bowler and former Captain of the Section, John Porter, has retired and moved to Italy. The Bowls Section organised a Spoon competition to mark his departure. Fourteen players participated in one Trips and two Pairs matches and John was delighted that his team won the Trips. Captain Harvey Herr presented John with an engraved mug to remind him of his time with MCC Bowls.
Former Bowls Captain John Porter
And finally…
It is a great sadness to us all to have lost a friend and stalwart member of the Bowling section in Jean Osbourne Watson, who died in May. She had been involved in MCC Bowls since 1993 when the greens were first laid. She previously served as Captain in Limuru, played for Kenya in the Commonwealth Games, manned the Markers’ Hut for many of the African States Tournaments and accompanied the Paraplegic Bowling Team to the Atlanta Paralympic Games in 1996.
She is deeply missed by all.
Jean with her husband Willie Watson
Harvey Herr
Bowls Captain
23 & 24 July MACKENZIE SHIELD 17 & 18 September CLUB PAIRS 25 September POPPY BOWLS
This has certainly been a very exciting quarter involving two emphatic victories over Karen Club and the wonderful Exhibition Match with Angela Okutoyi, Kenya’s top female tennis player, displaying her advanced tennis skills. Angela has since become a national sporting legend, by being the first Kenyan to win a Grand Slam - no less on the legendary grass courts of Wimbledon - and is now eligible to compete at the US Open with her junior doubles partner Rose Marie Nijkamp. (See Page 7). We managed to raise a considerable amount of money at our Entry Gate, which will help towards Angela’s expenses when she is on tour. Muthaiga Club wishes her every success as she continues to make Kenyan sporting history.
The Mens and Ladies Doubles session involved a number of our best ladies and a handful of men. This was, essentially, a pre-practice session for the MCC vs. Karen Ladies Challenge. The Muthaiga team travelled across to Karen Club by bus, organised by the Club, with Tennis Captain John Goodwin as the official escort. The final result was quite unexpected as Muthaiga managed to beat Karen by 14 matches to four.
A terrific achievement - Well done our ladies!
Then, once again, MCC Tennis players, headed back to Karen Club to compete in the annual “Wilson Cup” (for the first time in three years, due to Covid). As with the previous fixture, another unexpected result was achieved. Our six pairs managed to emerge as the overall winners with 28 astonishing sets to six. This was an outstanding result considering Muthaiga has not won the Trophy since 2016. As a Member of MCC for 26 years, I have never known such a strong and formidable set of players, on hand. Very many congratulations to our Team!
MCC Ladies – Emphatic Winners of the MCC vs. Karen Ladies Challenge. Our last event of this quarter was our own “Roland Garros” mixed doubles tournament. Sixteen players signed up for this annual team event. The format involved two Pools with two pairs in each Pool, representing various cities in France. After a most enjoyable and fun ‘Team’ competition, Bordeaux emerged as the outright winners but by only two games.
Winners of the Roland Garros Mixed Doubles Tournament - Team Bordeaux. From left- Alex Lemhberg & Rupert Mclellan and Tamara Krautkramer & Armaan Moledina.
