Chronicle Editor
Ricky Zililo, Senior Sports Reporter
BINGA district in Matabeleland North province will be a hive of activity today with volleyball lovers converging for the first ever beach volleyball tournament being held at the Binga Sand Beach.
The competition is part of the Zimbabwe Volleyball Association National Beach Volleyball series.
While other provinces have to use artificial setups for beach volleyball, Matabeleland North is fortunate to use a natural beach.
ZVA and Matabeleland North Volleyball Association should be commended for seeing the value in tapping into the underutilised Binga sand beach to host such a competition, which might culminate in the venue playing host to regional and international competitions if well marketed.
The Binga sand beach is located on the Zambezi River between the mountains and is believed to be sitting on millions of dollars in untapped tourism opportunities.
With the district already popular with tourists for its wildlife, boating and cultural activities, introduction of beach volleyball could also help make it the country’s leading sports tourism destination.
Following the inaugural Victoria Falls Sports Tourism festival that was held in September, it’s encouraging to note that the drive to promote sports tourism, market unheralded destinations and create sustainable development for marginalised communities in resort towns, is on track.
The beach volleyball tournament comes a week after the Binga sand beach played host to a beach handball event.
An undeniable fact is that Binga can become a destination of choice if proper facilities for emerging beach sports that draw huge numbers of holiday makers are put in place.
Popular beach sports include beach football, beach volleyball, beach handball, footvolley, which is popular in Brazil and frescobol.
Frescobol originates from the sands of Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro. According to online reports, it was created in the 1950s when the architect Caio Rubens Romero Lyra, who used to play beach tennis with his friends on the beach, decided to replace his tennis rackets that were being destroyed by the salt air, with wooden ones.
Despite having its origin in beach tennis and using wooden rackets like table tennis, the frescobol has nothing to do with these two sports. At its core is the fact that it’s a collaborative sport.
By definition, there are no winners or losers. What counts is the commitment of each player in not letting the ball touch the ground.
Binga too can bid to host regional and international sporting festivals, but there’s a catch to it; proper infrastructure is needed first.
For starters, are the lodges ready to host big numbers?
Are the RDC and Zimparks ready to invest in movable spectator stands and other equipment needed for such beach sports?
It is possible for Binga to take a leaf from the famous Copacabana in Brazil. Copacabana is known as the mecca of professional beach volleyball, hosting several times the world circuit of the sport and was the stage of the beach volleyball matches in the Rio Olympic Games in August 2016.
If investment is made in sporting infrastructure, Binga will certainly not miss out on international events.
It can compete with Victoria Falls for domestic and international arrivals if it fully utilises and develops its natural resources.
Despite being home to one of the world’s wonders, Victoria Falls hasn’t reaped much from sports tourism.
False promises to build cricket and rugby stadia has seen Victoria Falls missing out in staging international competitions such as Sevens Rugby Series and international cricket games.
Victoria Falls could easily have been a natural venue for international Sevens Rugby had there been an up to standard rugby stadium.
Right now, such tournaments are held in Hong Kong, United States and Cape Town.
Tourists would flock to watch international games and also take the opportunity to treat themselves by visiting nature’s grandstand in the form of the waterfalls and game parks.
International cricket is held in Bulawayo and Harare where passion for the game is at an all-time low. The game would be popular with tourists in Victoria Falls, but there is just talk of boosting sports tourism without building facilities to fulfil the dream.
Besides targeting developing facilities with the view of attracting rights to host regional and international competitions, sporting amenities in Binga can help locals to develop their talents instead of migrating to other towns to be identified.
It can also help develop interest in taking up sporting activities and prepare youngsters for the sports industry if they are not academically gifted.
Talent is abundant in Binga, with the country’s first black Olympian Robson Mulombe hailing from the area. Mulombe defied the odds when he competed in the 1964 Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan.
Born on September 12 1945, Mulombe was one of the two local runners that took part in the full marathon, completing the race in 2 hours 17minutes and finishing 56th overall.
Mulombe had qualified for the Olympic Games by clocking 2 hours 18 minutes in a 42km race held in Bulawayo in 1964 and was drafted into the Rhodesian team for the Games.
Mulombe had started running professionally in 1962 when he joined Wankie Mine.
Renowned goalkeepers’ trainer Tembo Chuma and striker Newman Sianchali, who is now with Dynamos, had to move to Hwange to realise their dreams.
The legendary Ndlovu brothers, Madinda, Peter and the late Adam, have their roots in Binga despite growing up in Bulawayo.
So, if a proper football facility is built in Binga, even football clubs may go there for pre-season and team building sessions.
In Zambia, football clubs like to hold their pre-season camps on the Chitapa sand beach in the Eastern Province.
Binga sand beach too can easily become a sport resort used by clubs for player conditioning away from the prying eyes of city fans. — @ZililoR
Online Reporter