Kwiruka and gusimbuka urukiramende

1Why this matters

Before there were stopwatches or running tracks in Rwanda, young people raced each other up and down the hills, and the best jumpers were admired for clearing a crossbar set higher and higher. Kwiruka (running) and gusimbuka urukiramende (jumping over the crossbar) are the traditional roots of today's athletics. In this lesson you play both, in versions that are safe for a school field.

2Kwiruka: running games

These games need only open, level ground cleared of stones, holes and glass.

1. Gusiganwa (the race): runners line up behind a line scratched in the ground. The starter calls "Mwitegure" (get ready) and claps. The first to cross the finish line 40 to 60 m away wins.
2. Shuttle relay: teams of four stand in a line. Runner 1 sprints 20 m to a marker, touches it, runs back and touches the next runner's hand. The first team whose four runners have all finished wins. Nobody leaves before their hand is touched.
3. Ubute (chasing): inside a marked square, one player has "ubute" and chases the others. A gentle touch on the shoulder or back passes ubute on. Nobody may push, trip or leave the square.

Running games train speed (moving quickly from one place to another) and agility (changing direction quickly while keeping balance).

3Gusimbuka urukiramende: the traditional high jump

An urukiramende is made of three sticks: two upright posts and a crossbar resting on top. Players jump over the bar one after another. A player who knocks the bar off is out of that round. When everyone has jumped, the bar is raised, and the game continues until only the best jumper is left.

The safe school version

• Use a light stick, a bamboo cane or a rope with small weights at each end, resting loosely on the posts so that it falls if touched. Never tie the bar down.
• Land on a soft area only: a dug and raked sand pit, or thick mats. Never land on hard ground.
• Start low, at about knee height, and raise the bar by 5 cm at a time.
• Use the scissors technique below, which lets you land on your feet.

4The scissors jump, step by step

1. Approach from one side, at an angle of about 30° to 40° to the bar, with a run-up of 5 to 7 strides.
2. Take off from the foot farther from the bar, about an arm's length away from it. You must take off from one foot.
3. Swing the leg nearer the bar straight up and over it.
4. Follow with the take-off leg in a scissor action, keeping your trunk upright.
5. Land on the first leg, then the second, with soft knees.

Worked example: running a class competition

Four friends play urukiramende. The bar starts at 70 cm and rises 5 cm each round. The class rule, adapted from the traditional game, is that each jumper has two attempts at every height, and two failures at one height puts you out.

Gatete and Mutesi tie on 85 cm. Athletics separates a tie by counting failures: first at the tied height (here both had none at 85 cm), then in the whole competition. Gatete had 2 failures in total and Mutesi had 3. Gatete wins, Mutesi is second, Keza third, Hirwa fourth.

How many times did the bar rise? From 70 cm to 90 cm is 90 − 70 = 20 cm, and 20 ÷ 5 = 4 rises.

Practice

Solution. Two upright posts and one crossbar resting on top of them.

Solution. Her right side is nearer the bar, so she takes off from her left foot (the far foot) and swings her right leg (the near leg) over first.

Solution. A loose bar falls when a jumper touches it. A tied bar would stay fixed and could trip the jumper or catch her legs, causing a bad fall.

Solution. Each runner covers 20 + 20 = 40 m. The team covers 4 × 40 = 160 m.

Solution. Round 1 is 60 cm; there are 5 rises before round 6: 60 + 5 × 5 = 85 cm.