The first international ice hockey tournament staged in the capital city saw local team Kenya Ice Lions face sides made up of members of embassies and Non-Governmental Organisations from Canada, Europe and the United States.

At the end of an action-packed weekend at Panari Hotel, the US were crowned the winners.

The final ended 10-9 after sudden death in overtime against Kenya Ice Lions.

Kyle McCarter, the US Ambassador to Kenya, performed a ceremonial face-off in the last game and awarded the trophy.

Canada finished third after beating Europe 13-1.

Due to the size of the rink, the games were played three-on-three with goaltenders.

In their other games, Kenya Ice Lions lost 17-13 to Europe before defeating the US 13-6 and Canada 6-4.

Player Rob Ao Opiyo, who was involved in the Organising Committee of the tournament, claims it is important for Kenya to become a member of the International Ice Hockey Federation and that steps are being taken in that direction.

"We are in the process of registering our federation and we are experiencing a couple of hurdles, but we do have a strong desire to become a part of the international ice hockey family and we are working our way to it," he said.

"We beat the expat Canadians, that was a great feeling, but we lost to the Americans.

"But overall the tournament was a great success.

"We definitely want more of that."

Madaraka Day is a national holiday celebrated on June 1 of each year.

It commemorates Kenya’s anniversary of gaining internal self-rule from the United Kingdom.

Madaraka translates as "power" or "responsibility" in the local language.