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Innocent Kurira, Sports Reporter
THE Bulawayo Athletics Board (Bab) has promised athletes a guaranteed safe return to the track when they take part in the National Athletics Association of Zimbabwe (Naaz) inter-provincial championships at White City Stadium on Sunday.
This will be the first athletics event in eight months since all sporting activities were indefinitely suspended at the end of March following outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic in Zimbabwe.
The championships were initially set for September, but were postponed after Naaz failed to get Government clearance.
The event will be held under strict Covid-19 guidelines, with White City Stadium set to be fumigated on Saturday.
Only registered athletes and staff will have access to the venue and no spectators will be allowed into the stadium
“We are set to go; disinfection of the venue will go ahead on Saturday with our event set to get underway the next day. There are enough saniters, masks and all other protective equipment to ensure the safety of our athletes. I can assure athletes that the event will be held in a safe environment,” said Bab chairman Manuel Mpofu.
Only five track events; the 100m, 200m, 400m, 800m and 5 000m will be staged on Sunday after relay events and field competitions were scrapped to meet Covid-19 guidelines.
Each province will field just two athletes in the men’s and women’s categories.
The event will also be used as a qualifier for the 2021 World Junior Championships to be held in Nairobi, Kenya, the Tokyo Olympic Games and as well as other major regional and continental meets set for next year’s athletics season. – @innocentskizoe
Online Reporter