The first edition of the annual Paul Bitok National Volleyball Tournament will be held on April 8-9 at Moi International Sports Centre Kasarani indoor arena and Nyayo National Stadium gymnasium, the organisers have announced.

The inaugural edition has attracted 16 men and eight women teams and will be played in Nairobi for the first time. Kasarani will play host to the women’s version while the men's action will be held at Nyayo.

The participating teams are drawn from the Kenya Volleyball Federation National Women’s and Men’s league.

The tournament’s patron Paul Bitok, who is also the national women’s volleyball team head coach, said this year’s event was initially to be held in Bungoma County but was rescheduled to Nairobi owing to the unavailability of indoor facilities in Kiminini and the current rainy season.

“Some of the teams set to participate in the tournament are also preparing for the African Clubs Championships and we thought it would be ideal to host the event in an indoor facility. Also, the sponsors are expecting a competitive and an exciting tourney and indoor facilities will provide a great platform for teams to square it out,” said Bitok.

Club registration deadline is on March 31 at 4PM.

Bitok termed the tournament as the best platform to churn out new volleyball talents.

“Besides the cash awards, it will be another chance for players to showcase their talents and even get the attention of our international scouts and friends who will be attending.”

Winners will walk away with Sh. 100,000 plus trophies while runners up will get Sh. 50,000.

Kenya Volleyball Federation Nairobi branch chairman Moses Mbuthia said; “We have waived the 15% given to the branch whenever there is a tournament being hosted in Nairobi. This will act as our sponsorship as a branch towards the tournament.”

He added; “It is unfortunate that sponsored universities and colleges will not be able to participate because this is a special tournament for the foundation”.

The tournament has attracted different sponsors namely; OITA which is the main sponsor from Japan, CAAN Sports Turkey, Coca-Cola, Kenya Volleyball Federation, and the Paul Bitok Foundation.