The Visit Rwanda Golf Challenge organised as part of activities in the Move Afrika campaign, a five-year effort to pioneer an international music tour across Africa, will be held on yearly basis.
The competition was held at Kigali Golf Club and Resort Villas with the awards ceremony at Radisson Blu Hotel on Thursday, December 7. The tournament was for guests who participated in the Move Afrika campaign in Kigali.
The Chief Executive Officer of Rwanda Development Board, Francis Gatera, emphasized that though the tournament was added on a short notice, it was very successful and it will be held every year.
"The inaugural edition of Visit Rwanda Golf Challenge was on a short notice but we had good response and it was a successful event," Gatera stated during the awards ceremony.
"We want to make this a regular event which will be played annually. We want to use the visit Rwanda Golf Challenge not only to promote our talents but also to promote our products."
"The Golf competition was organized as part of the wider Move Africa campaign. We had many guests all around the world that participated in the broader section which is the Move Africa campaign and we put the tournament together."
Gatera said that sports tourism is one of the key areas Rwanda is using to attract investors since events such as the Visit Rwanda Golf Challenge will help the sector to grow.
"Rwanda has been working hard to attract visitors, investors, around the world to the country. This is also one of the main avenues to promote sports tourism. Whereas the contribution of the industry is small, it is growing and events like this help the industry to go farther.''
There were 200 golfers from 25 countries including US, Ireland, Canada, France, Sweden, Korea, Ghana, Uganda, and Tanzania in the one-day golf tournament.
Among the winners was Linda Mugeni who was adjudged the best in the ladies' category and won herself a trophy, a night for two at Radisson Blu Hotel and also a ticket for a trip to Dubai sponsored by RwandAir.
Mugeni stressed that people should dispel the notion that Golf is for the affluent in society which is a wrong perception.
"People should not think that golf is for only the rich. It is a very wrong assertion. Everyone can play the sport," she told Times Sport.
"It is a great sport with many health benefits. Also, there is no retirement age for golf as compared to other sporting disciplines."