Story by Mthokozisi Dube
THE National Athletics Association of Zimbabwe (NAAZ) is targeting improved performance at the African Union Sports Council (AUSC) Region Five Youth Games after holding a tournament to select athletes to represent team Zimbabwe in Namibia next month.
White City was the venue for this year‘s NAAZ open field and track championships, an event used to select athletes for the Region Five Youth Games penciled for Namibia next month.
Athletics coach, Manuel Mpofu believes staging more of these competitions will help athletes improve their qualification times for improved performance on the international stage.
”As NAAZ we want to improve from our performance in Malawi in the last edition of Region Five, so we have decided to have preparatory competitions for our athletes to improve their times hence we have organised an event which has attracted clubs across the country,” he said.
The Bulawayo Athletics Board(BAB) is using the same competition to select athletes for inter-provincial championships set for June in the city.
“As BAB we are happy to have hosted the NAAZ open championships. We have an action-packed calendar but we are using this competition to select our team for the inter-provincial which we will host here at White City,” BAB chairperson, Watson Madenyika said.
Zimbabwean Olympian Isaac Mpofu believes with these competitions, Zimbabwe can crawl back to become an athletics powerhouse.
“The key to success in sport is continuous practice. We are happy BAB has realised the need to host these competitions. This will see an improved performance by athletes,” he said.
Zimbabwe will play host to the Southern Region Senior Championships in Harare from the July 26 to July 27, with organisers saying the meet is also a platform to select Team Zimbabwe athletes.
