‘Club Games’ an interesting assignment for scribes

Citizen TV cameraman David Kabiruh (front) and reporters Mike Okinyi (right) and Philip Muchiri on the flight to Gold Coast on April 2, 2018. PHOTO | COURTESY |

What you need to know:

  • Just like the athletes, the Kenyan journalists on duty have drafted a training programme with morning runs and evening jogs just to keep fit. Thankfully, we shall not be subjected to the World Anti-Doping Agency out-of-competition tests!
  • It’s not easy criss-crossing the venues, interviewing athletes, officials and fans, and rushing to send copy in time.
  • The occasional beer at the beach will make life more exciting, and that’s an option I most certainly have on my Gold Coast programme. After all, life is never that serious!

It takes quite a bit to win medals. It’s not just the pre-competition training that matters, but the conditions at the competition venue also count very much towards performance.

There have been numerous cases of homesick athletes failing to perform simply because they aren’t accustomed to foreign conditions at venues in which they compete.

Thus, hospitality is one aspect of performance that cannot be taken for granted.

Team Kenya will from Wednesday launch their campaign at the 21st Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, the beautiful Australian beach city in the state of Queensland.

Gold Coast is quite some distance from Nairobi and it takes a person hours, if not days, to shed off the jet lag from the trip Down Under.

Athletes aside, sports journalists, often the unsung heroes in sport, will also have to endure the arduous travel and acclimatise in time to file copy for the masses back home and globally to follow.

The Nation Media Group is well represented in Gold Coast by yours truly, while Royal Media Services have dispatched veteran Mike Okinyi and Philip Muchiri to feed their Citizen TV and Citizen Radio fans, and they have cameraman David Kabiruh in tow.

The Standard Group has sent Jonathan Komen, the rising star from Elgeyo-Marakwet County, to feed their platforms while The Star has veteran sports editor Chris Mbaisi on deck.

KASS Media haven’t been left behind as they too will have Jonathan Kebutt filing copy that should excite the home fans of Kenya’s legendary track athletes.

Meanwhile, veteran John Nene is travelling for the BBC Radio. It’s a long journey to Gold Coast, and I opted for Etihad Airlines via Abu Dhabi.

It takes five hours of flying time to Abu Dhabi, and then there is a three-hour layover before connecting to the Melbourne-bound flight which takes 14 hours!

Three hours after landing in Melbourne, a two-hour flight will take you to Gold Coast, rather worse for wear but in time for Wednesday’s opening ceremony of the Commonwealth Games.

While the Team Kenya athletes and officials are accommodated at the “Games Village”, journalists usually have to find accommodation that’s convenient and close to the Main Press Centre to allow for seamless communication.

There is the official media hotel, but this is quite often on the more expensive side. For a two-week stay in Gold Coast, and with the pressure that comes with such games, accommodation is going for as much as Sh900,000!

This time round, the seven Kenyan journalists (Nene is accommodated separately at the BBC “Village’) have opted to rent out a three-storey mansion at Surfers’ Paradise, one of the most popular and famous addresses in Gold Coast.

Although the accommodation costs an arm and a leg, it’s quite convenient as the mansion is just 10 minutes by bicycle to the Main Press Centre and is well equipped with modern communication facilities and a rooftop bar (quite important to wind down).

The self-styled “Kenya media house” will be officially opened this Thursday by Sports Cabinet Secretary Rashid Echesa and National Olympic Committee of Kenya President Paul Tergat who will be accompanied by the Team Kenya ‘Chef de mission’ Barnabas Korir and other officials.

This will be the nerve centre for reporting on Kenya’s progress at the games. It costs $15 (Sh1,500) to hire a bike for a month in Gold Coast and most of the media team are settling for this option as it will always keep fitness levels high riding to and from the Media Centre.

Journalism is not just about filing copy or broadcasting the goings-on, its also about travelling and experiencing the world. Growing up in Nairobi, one of the most popular television series that I would never miss was the Freemantle Media-produced ‘Neighbours’ shot at ‘Ramsay Street’, a fictitious address in Melbourne.

I’m happy to learn, though, that there are actual tours to the setting of this series, with tourists able to meet and greet some of the stars who feature in this exciting programme.

I will no doubt book a tour so as to strike ‘Ramsay Street’ off my bucket list.

Just like the athletes, the Kenyan journalists on duty have drafted a training programme with morning runs and evening jogs just to keep fit. Thankfully, we shall not be subjected to the World Anti-Doping Agency out-of-competition tests!

It’s not easy criss-crossing the venues, interviewing athletes, officials and fans, and rushing to send copy in time.

The occasional beer at the beach will make life more exciting, and that’s an option I most certainly have on my Gold Coast programme. After all, life is never that serious!