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Takudzwa Chitsiga Sports Reporter
THE Harare Basketball Association are set to host a Super Six Basketball League Unity Day jamboree at City Sports Centre today.
Carlos Munda, the HBA spokesperson, said they have lined-up an interesting programme for the day after several teams confirmed their availability.
“We are going to celebrate the Unity Day holiday by holding our round eight basketball games at the City Sports Centre. The holiday is of significance to the country, so we saw it good to join the nation in celebrations.
“There are several games lined-up and the major ones in the women’s section will see Vixens taking on UZ Sparks in a tough encounter.
“Greenstars will tackle City Hornets while JBC will come up against Bunnies. The men’s section will be headlined by City Hornets’ battle against JBC. Foxes will clash with the UZ Stars. The other match will have Bucks versus Leopards.
“We want to take the commemorations to another level and we are happy that the holiday came at the right time,” said Munda.
But it will be a mixed bag as Zimbabwe celebrates Unity Day. Sports associations are commemorating the public holiday in different ways.
The Zimbabwe Chess Federation, who enjoyed a fruitful year where they successfully hosted the Easter Chess tournament, the Heroes Chess tournament and the Zimbabwe Open, will take a break on the day as they are off-season.
Todd Mapingire, the secretary-general of ZCF, said they are taking a small break but is sure that some provinces and clubs will be playing the sport at zonal and individual levels.
“We are not going to have a national event but most of the players will be playing the sport. The players were active throughout the year as we managed to take part in the Olympiad and the zonal competitions.
“We are looking forward to next year as we will have more national tournaments lined-up,” said Mapingire.
The Zimbabwe Handball Federation, who are eyeing to take part at next year’s Africa Union Sports Council Region Zone V Games in Congo Brazzaville, will not be active as they look forward to resume camp early next year.
ZHF secretary general, Edison Chirowodza, said they are taking a break and will resume camp early next year as they are set to take part in the Region V Games.
“We have had a successful year after we managed to host this year’s Africa Union Sports Council Region Zone V Games. We are happy that we managed to qualify for the finals.
“We are to attend the Regional Games from January 15-21 so we are taking a small break before we resume camp early next year,” said Chirowodza.
The Zimbabwe Cestoball Association, who are preparing to go for the World Cup, have no programme lined-up for the holiday as they are looking to go into camp early next year.
They had their first training camp in Harare last weekend and will be taking a short break for the Festive Season.
The Zimbabwe Karate Federation, whose calendar came down in November, will be taking a break today.
Joe Rugwete, the ZKF president, said they are focusing on the upcoming Africa Union Sports Council Games which they will host in Bulawayo.
“We are off-season and there is nothing much concerning Unity Day but karatekas will be out doing their business as usual. We had not prepared for any big event for the day but we hope everyone enjoys the day.
“We are going to host the Region V Games next year so we are already preparing,” said Rugwete.
As for football, there will be the Jadel Football Academy Under-17 Invitational Cup tournament that will be staged at the Prince Edward School grounds, starting from 8:30 am today.
The tournament is the brainchild of former Zimbabwe youth international Walter ”Ringers” Musanhu who is now based in Beijing, China.
Musanhu runs the Jadel Football Academy in Beijing and they have a branch in here Harare which is staging the Under-17 Invitational Cup tournament which has attracted 10 teams.
Online Reporter