admin
Innocent Kurira , Sports Reporter
BULAWAYO’S only female boxing referees — Nokuthaba Charlotte Ndlovu and Sisasenkosi Maphosa — have been hailed for arbitrating a sport that is regarded as a preserve for men. Entering that cordoned space and pushing the bar in match officiating has made them proud. They have both officiated at major tournaments and shown a level of professionalism unsurpassed.
They, however, bemoan that only a few women seem interested in the sport, in a city that prides itself as the home of boxing.While Zimbabwe and Bulawayo have produced an impressive number of female boxers, Ndlovu and Maphosa are not that impressed because few women are boxing match officials. They want more women to blow the whistle.
While both tell different stories of how they got into the game, they somehow share one thing. Refereeing boxers is no easy stroll and it takes guts to enter the ring. Ndlovu reckons women have to be initiated into boxing so that they have an interest.
“The fact that it’s a male-dominated sport from the boxers themselves to the officiators means there are few females interested in boxing.
“That on its own made me so interested in boxing because I want to change the whole idea of boxing being only male-dominated and yes, I want the world to see me representing all the females when I’m in that ring as a referee or as a judge,” said Ndlovu.
Maphosa agrees with Ndlovu.
“There are a few women involved in boxing and that on its own made me want to be part of the sport. It’s fun to have that power inside the ring. You earn respect when you are in that ring,” said Maphosa.
Ndlovu who is just 20 only developed her love for boxing this year.
“A friend of mine who is a boxing officiator asked me to come to watch them officiating at a tournament in Luveve in September. I just loved how the officiators were having that control over whatever happened inside that ring. I fell in love with boxing on that day,” said Ndlovu.
For Maphosa who is also a qualified physical education teacher, she is doing this for her late father.
“I am a regular attendee at sports workshops that happen around the city. Earlier this year, I attended this certain workshop and I was told there was a training for coaches in boxing and I attended. I also attended another course in Victoria Falls.
“My father used to love boxing and he would teach me how to defend myself. He did not get an opportunity to be part of boxing but I am immortalising him by being part of the sport. I am doing what he wished he could do,” said Maphosa.
Maphosa reckons the sport needs serious marketing.
“There is a lot of ground to be covered in terms of people knowing about boxing. There is a need for awareness programmes and other initiatives to market the sport. We have a chance to create champions out there,” she said.
Her sentiments were echoed by Ndlovu.
“When there is a match on a weekend almost 99 percent of the country’s citizens are aware of it but with boxing the only people who’ll be aware of it are the boxers, officiators and the boxers’ relatives only.
“That’s the mindset that needs to be changed by educating people about boxing, having more matches, training more people starting from kids and having sponsors to sponsor those matches so that at the end of the game the boxers are motivated to continue in the department and not give up just because there’s no motivation or anything keeping them in the boxing sport,” said Ndlovu. — @innocentskizoe
Online Reporter