{"id":119031,"date":"2026-02-03T14:58:26","date_gmt":"2026-02-03T14:58:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/scrabble-heroes-tourney-highlights-growth-of-game-in-rwanda"},"modified":"2026-02-03T16:41:20","modified_gmt":"2026-02-03T16:41:20","slug":"scrabble-heroes-tourney-highlights-growth-of-game-in-rwanda","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sport\/scrabble-heroes-tourney-highlights-growth-of-game-in-rwanda","title":{"rendered":"Scrabble: Heroes tourney highlights growth of game in Rwanda"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Rwanda. <\/strong><\/span>The second edition of the Heroes Scrabble Tournament unfolded on Sunday at Nature Kigali, bringing together adult and junior players in a competition that organisers say reflects the steady growth of the game as a competitive mind sport in Rwanda.<\/p>\n

Held over two days from January 31 to February 1, the tournament attracted players from different clubs and schools.<\/p>\n

In the adult category, Eustace Makhoka emerged winner, followed by Sang Stephen in second place and Titus Mugisha.<\/p>\n

In the junior category, Harmoni Wangeci took first place, with Pyther Banza and Warren Ajisafe finishing second and third respectively.<\/p>\n

Speaking after receiving his award, Makhoka thanked the organisers and fellow players.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want to thank the organisers and the competitors. It was a good show, and most of all I thank our heroes, because it is through them that we have the freedom we enjoy today,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The tournament was organised by the Rwanda Scrabble Association, which was formed in 2024 following increased interest in competitive Scrabble in the country.<\/p>\n

According to Anaclet Ruzindana, president of the association and one of its founding members, the idea of formalising Scrabble as a sport gained momentum after an African Scrabble tournament was hosted in Rwanda.<\/p>\n

\u201cScrabble was known mainly as a recreational game,\u201d Ruzindana said. \u201cBut that tournament helped people see it as a competitive, internationally recognised sport. After that, we began organising ourselves as an association.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said the association started with a small committee of five members in October 2024 and has since expanded to form three active clubs in Nyarutarama, Kanombe and Kimironko.<\/p>\n

Membership has grown to more than 100 players across the clubs.<\/p>\n

The association has also introduced Scrabble in schools, working with the Ministry of Education to pilot the programme. Ruzindana said Scrabble is now played in at least 19 schools, including public and private institutions.<\/p>\n

\u201cScrabble helps students develop vocabulary, mathematics skills, concentration and strategic thinking,\u201d he said. \u201cIn one game, a student can learn dozens of new words.\u201d<\/p>\n

Teachers who brought students to the tournament echoed the same view. Samuel Nalumenya, a teacher at Excella School, said Scrabble has helped learners build confidence and improve both language and numeracy skills.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the first tournament, I brought only three students. This year, I managed to bring nine, and interest keeps growing,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Rwanda<\/span> Follow Africa-Press<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Rwanda. The second edition of the Heroes Scrabble Tournament unfolded on Sunday at Nature Kigali, bringing together adult and junior players in a competition that organisers say reflects the steady growth of the game as a competitive mind sport in Rwanda. Held over two days from January 31 to February 1, the tournament […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":119030,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,18],"tags":[4923,758,9274],"class_list":["post-119031","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-sport","tag-heroes-day","tag-rwanda","tag-scrabble"],"yoast_head":"\nScrabble: Heroes tourney highlights growth of game in Rwanda - Rwanda<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The second edition of the Heroes Scrabble Tournament unfolded on Sunday at Nature Kigali, bringing together adult and ju ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sport\/scrabble-heroes-tourney-highlights-growth-of-game-in-rwanda\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Scrabble: Heroes tourney highlights growth of game in Rwanda\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The second edition of the Heroes Scrabble Tournament unfolded on Sunday at Nature Kigali, bringing together adult and ju ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sport\/scrabble-heroes-tourney-highlights-growth-of-game-in-rwanda\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Rwanda\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-02-03T14:58:26+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-02-03T16:41:20+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sites\/23\/2026\/02\/sm_1770124234.145125.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"666\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sport\/scrabble-heroes-tourney-highlights-growth-of-game-in-rwanda#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sport\/scrabble-heroes-tourney-highlights-growth-of-game-in-rwanda\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Scrabble: Heroes tourney highlights growth of game in Rwanda\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-02-03T14:58:26+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-02-03T16:41:20+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sport\/scrabble-heroes-tourney-highlights-growth-of-game-in-rwanda\"},\"wordCount\":401,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sport\/scrabble-heroes-tourney-highlights-growth-of-game-in-rwanda#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sites\/23\/2026\/02\/sm_1770124234.145125.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Heroes Day\",\"Rwanda\",\"Scrabble\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"Sport\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sport\/scrabble-heroes-tourney-highlights-growth-of-game-in-rwanda#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sport\/scrabble-heroes-tourney-highlights-growth-of-game-in-rwanda\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sport\/scrabble-heroes-tourney-highlights-growth-of-game-in-rwanda\",\"name\":\"Scrabble: Heroes tourney highlights growth of game in Rwanda - 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