Chronicle EditorSikhumbuzo Moyo, Senior Sports Reporter
THE National Association of Secondary School Heads (Nash) is contemplating investing in the Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) machine to combat the alarming levels of age cheating by some success hungry schools.
MRI scans have become standard in assessing the age of athletes, as they retain a 99 percent accuracy.
Every bone in the arm and leg has an end plate from which bones grow. When the growth is completed (usually around the age of 17), then this end plate disappears on the MRI scans. If it can be seen on the MRI scans, then it is proof that the player is 17 or younger.
“We are seriously interrogating that scientific approach of vetting because we realise that mere eyes can be deceiving. Our worry could be the cost of the MRI machine, but we believe it would be a worthy investment because we note with serious concern that some schools are just too eager to win and will use every dirty trick to achieve that,” said Nash national vice-president Arthur Maphosa yesterday.
According to the Nash constitution, all sporting duties fall under the auspices of the Nash vice-president, a position presently held by Maphosa.
“Cheating in schools has become a cancer that we cannot do away with overnight and we believe that if we work with national associations such as Zifa, we can get this machine because even at that level of national competitions, we have had such cries of cheating. It’s a worrying scourge and it has to be stopped,” said Maphosa.
Massive age cheating claims were made in the run-up to the just-ended Copa Coca-Cola national schools’ finals held in Bindura.
One classic case involved Mwenezi and Rufaro High schools from Masvingo province in girls’ soccer.
The cheating outcries led to calls for the Government to rein in Masvingo, with some sports directors accusing the province of literally legalising cheating with impunity.
A headmaster, who spoke on condition of anonymity, welcomed the idea of purchasing the MRI machine, saying this would go a long way in eradicating cheating in schools’ sport.
“It’s a good idea and we will fully support it. Age cheating has seen talented athletes being denied an opportunity to showcase their talent. It’s interesting that some of these players only shine at school level, but are not seen or heard of afterwards. They can’t make the Premiership grade because then they would be competing against their true age mates,” said the headmaster.
The cheapest MRI machine costs about $350 000.
@skhumoyo2000
Bongani Ndlovu
Online Reporter