Cathia Uwamahoro is a Rwandan female cricket player popularly known for breaking a Guinness World Record for the longest cricket net session by a woman in 2017.

Becoming a world record holder did not only raise the profile of the sport in Rwanda but also helped Uwamahoro achieve her dream – inspiring more women to join the team.

"The Guinness World Record has changed my life, my goal was to inspire other girls and create awareness about women cricket. I also aimed at raising money to build the first international cricket stadium in Rwanda (Gahanga Cricket Stadium).” https://www.newtimes.co.rw/section/read/208151

The 27-year-old says that since registering the world record four years ago, she has seen a big number of young girls joining the game, with many requesting her to mentor them.

She explains that most of the girls had the passion to join the game but lacked someone to direct and encourage them to take up the challenge.

Besides inspiring younger generations of women cricketers, Uwamahoro says the sport has also impacted her own life in many ways. Her game has improved, and so has her self-confidence.

"I can see the future of cricket is good and I want to be among those who will take it far to the international level, this is what keeps me going,” she told Weekend Sport this week.

Starting out

Born and raised in Gisozi–Kigali, Uwamahoro is the only child in her family raised by a single mother after she lost her father during the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi.

Since childhood, Uwamahoro recalls she always loved sports, but she had never heard about cricket. It was not until she was in senior two that she met a group of boys playing the game in Gikondo, a suburb in Kigali.

"It got me curious and decided to go watch the game. One of the boys who approached me happened to be Eric Dusingizima, a national team player who also later became a Guinness World Record holder.

"He introduced me to the game and that is where it all started. Since then I fell in love with cricket and I have never stopped playing,” she adds.

Making a difference

While in secondary school, Uwamahoro started training with a group of boys and by then, she was the only woman in the team.

Since there was no girls club, the Rwanda Cricket Association established a club called ‘Kigali Combine’ based in IPRC Kigali (formerly Eto Kicukiro), aimed at bringing together all girls from different schools around the capital. Dusingizimana was the team’s coach.

"I was among the club’s pioneer players in 2008 and not long after I was called to join the first national U-19 team that went on to compete in several International Cricket Council (ICC) Africa U-19 Women Championships,” she says.

Also in 2008, Uwamahoro was part of the national team that took part in the ICC Africa Women’s T20 tournament in Nairobi. It was after this competition that she realised she had great potential, and decided to take the game more seriously.

The following year, she featured for the women’s U-19 national team in the ICC Africa U-19 Women Championship in Dar-es-salaam, Tanzania.

In 2012, Rwanda Cricket Association formed women clubs and distributed the available players in clubs including Charity, White Clouds, Queens of Victory, and Kigali Angels.

She was chosen as a vice-captain for Charity Cricket Club and currently serves as the team captain.

At the national team level, Uwamahoro has also represented the country in four Genocide Memorial Tournaments since 2014 when it was first staged.