adminSports Correspondent
REGISTRATION for the season opening provincial cross-country event set for Nketa Park in Mpopoma on Saturday has started in earnest with the Bulawayo Athletics Board inviting athletes to take part.
Bab sent out an invitation last Wednesday to clubs, schools with some having already registered for the event as well as the track and field championships scheduled for Sunday at White City Stadium.
The cross country event is the first of two events that will be held to select the provincial team that will compete at the national cross country championships scheduled for Hillside Dams early next month.
Bab chairman Manuel Mpofu said the second event will be held on 22 January when the final team to represent the province will get selected.
“We have begun our preparations in earnest and registration is ongoing for the season opening cross country event. We expect athletes from clubs around the city to register to compete for places in the provincial side but those from outside the city are also welcome to take part,” he said.
According to the invitation letter sent to clubs and schools registration is $1 for juniors and $2 for seniors per event for both competitions while relay teams are being charged $4 and $3 for adults and juniors respectively.
Events in the cross country include 10km for the senior men and women, 8km for junior men, 6km for junior women and 2,5km for cadets (Under-14).
The International Association of Athletics Federations reconfigured the distances this year with senior men and women running a similar distance unlike last year when men ran 12km and women 8km.
The last year race was won by Fairbridge’s John Payarira who beat a field of nine athletes to win the race in 41 minutes 24,98 followed by Trust Chidomaya who clocked 41:39,14 with Sparrows’s Hlalani Ngwenya (43:24,71) coming third.
derick.khumalo