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The Swans Beach Rugby Against Cancer Festival 2026 brought together 13 teams at Aero Beach on 10 October for a day of sporting competition, cancer awareness and community health engagement, with Legacy Holders emerging as champions.
Organised by Swans Sport Club, the festival aimed to raise awareness about different types of cancer while providing free cancer screening services to the general public. The event used sport as a platform to encourage community participation and highlight the importance of early detection.
Thirteen Teams Unite for Cancer Awareness
The festival featured 13 teams, each representing a different type of cancer, creating an opportunity to combine sporting competition with public health education.
The participating teams were Engineering Solutions Ltd, representing blood cancer; Lausanne Network for Women in Sport, representing breast cancer; Trybabies, representing inflammatory breast cancer; Storm, representing childhood cancer; and the African Women in Sport Initiative (AWISI), representing brain cancer.
The other teams were Fans Favorites (cervical cancer), Ebyononnese (prostate cancer), Off Season (kidney cancer), U-Safe (gynaecological cancer), Crown Dental Clinic (liver cancer), Los Bandidos (skin cancer), Legacy Holders (ovarian cancer) and Tequila Shots (gastric cancer).
Legacy Holders Claim the Championship
On the pitch, Legacy Holders secured the championship title after a hard-fought victory against AWISI in the final.
Captained by Jaguars captain Abel Allen, Legacy Holders delivered a determined performance to emerge winners of the 2026 edition, capping a festival that brought together teams from different organisations for a common cause.
The programme also featured experiential fun games facilitated by Playhouse. The sack race added to the day’s entertainment, with Team Ebyononnese taking the win.
Organisations Come Together Through Sport
The festival attracted representatives from different organisations, demonstrating the potential of sport to bring people together around shared social and health priorities.
Jude Rwakayanga and Sarah Adong led the Crown Dental Clinic team, while Dorothy Nekesa and Warry Ssenfuka led U-Safe. Joshua Wakabi led Storm, and Dr Azziz Derrick Mpora led Tequila Shots, whose team included Ernest Akor of NBS Sport.
Sir Ian Walker represented Engineering Solutions Ltd, while Peace Lekuru and Regina Lunyolo led the Lausanne Network for Women in Sport team. Patricia Owomugisha, Chairperson of AWISI Marketing and Events, was also among the participating representatives.
FESTIVAL GALLERY
Free Cancer Screening Highlights Importance of Early Detection
A key component of the festival was the provision of free cancer screening by the Uganda Cancer Institute to participants and members of the general public.
The initiative complemented the sporting activities by giving cancer awareness a practical health dimension, encouraging members of the community to prioritise screening and seek appropriate medical guidance.
By combining sport, interactive games and access to screening services, the Swans Beach Rugby Against Cancer Festival demonstrated how sporting events can provide an avenue for public health awareness and community engagement.
As the festival concluded with Legacy Holders lifting the championship title, its wider message remained clear: raising cancer awareness and promoting early detection require collective action, community participation and sustained engagement.
The event reinforced the role sport can play beyond competition, bringing people together to support a cause that affects individuals, families and communities.
