NAIROBI, Feb. 9 (Xinhua) -- Kenya will send a team of 14 players to this year's Icestock Sport World Championships to be held in Amstetten, Austria between Feb. 25 and March 5, officials said on Friday.

The team, which comprises seven men and seven women, will depart Nairobi on Feb. 23 to join 35 nations from across the globe in the winter sport that has its origins in Bavaria, Germany.

"The sport has been in existence in Kenya for 15 years but lack of publicity is the single most factor that has taken a heavy toll in the spread of the game and thus confined it in Nairobi only," Tim Ngugi, the Chairman of Icestock Sport Kenya told Xinhua.

Although the game is a winter sport, it does not feature at the Winter Olympics where it has been demonstrated twice at the quadrennial global event.

The game, which is mostly played in Germany, Austria and Italy, is similar to curling where competitors slide ice stocks over an ice surface aiming for a target or to cover the longest distance.

Although the sports is traditionally played on an ice surface known as a rink, events are also held on tarmac in summer.

Whereas there are several disciplines in icestock sports, only target shooting and distance shooting are contested in international championships.

Not many Kenyans are aware that the East African nation sends a team every year to either the global event, the African and European Championships respectively.

In August 2009, Kenya hosted the Africa Championships in Nairobi which was won by Namibia.

Ngugi said cost of equipment, lack of acceptance by members of the sports fraternity, and non-existent sponsorship are some of the challenges that have hampered growth and spread of the game countrywide.

Kenya, which is ranked number 21 out of 48 countries globally, Namibia and Tunisia are the most active African nations, with Egypt and Gabon showing increasing interest in the game. Enditem