LGUOM gears up for AACT
Ladies Golf Union of Malawi (LGUOM), in its quest to improve the level of golf in the country, has started preparations for this year’s All Africa Challenge Trophy (AACT) to be held in Namibia in March.
LGUOM President, Stella Ng’omba, said they were planning to include a junior golfer in the four-member team that will represent the country at the tournament. “Currently, LGUOM has lined up three qualifying rounds to be played at Country Club Limbe, Blantyre Sports Club and Lilongwe Golf Club,” she said.
The first qualifier was scheduled to start yesterday and end this afternoon as 20 ladies were expected to play over 36 holes.
Next qualifiers will take place at Blantyre Sports Club on February 8 and 9.
Ng’oma said the AACT was a unique gathering of women from all walks of life which offers great opportunity for ladies to play golf at a competitive level.
“The AACT has undoubtedly established strong ties among lady golfers in Africa,” she said.
This year’s event will be the 15th edition of the championship which commenced in 1992. The tournament is largely sponsored by R&A Golf in UK, with the aim of promoting women’s participation in the sport.
R&A golf has placed a significant focus on participation of women and girls at all levels on and off the course, with the aim of driving a more inclusive culture worldwide. Malawi first participated in AACT Botswana in 2012, and later in AACT Kenya in 2016.
Meanwhile, Ng’oma called for support from corporate institutions.
“As we strive to improve the level of play among girls and ladies in Malawi. Getting sponsorship for ladies’ golf in Malawi has always been a challenge. We are thankful to those companies who, despite their own challenges, have stepped up to support ladies golf initiatives in recent years,” she said.
LGUOM has over the past years been committed to developing ladies’ sports participation through the game of golf.
In recent years, LGUOM participated in AACT, East and Central Africa Regional Challenge Tourney (ECARCT), Malawi Open Ladies Strokeplay Championship, The Inter-club challenge and the Tri-nations Junior Golf Tournament.
“Through participation in these competitions, we have noticed growth in the number of women and girls actively participating in the sport. As an example, for the first time, we had over 50 Malawian ladies, and seven girls participating in the Malawi Open.
“Through several partnerships with a few corporate sponsors, Malawi was able to host their very first Malawi Open Ladies Strokeplay Championship in April last year, which saw lady golfers from Zambia, Zimbabwe, Tanzania and Ireland taking part in this competition,” she said.
