adminLovemore Dube Senior Sports Editor
BULAWAYO sport will never be the same after the Africa Union Region 5 Games. State-of-the-art facilities will be left for use by generations to come. The profile of the Games will raise awareness about sport in general and probably a hype that could see sponsorships come along the way.
White City will be home to the only tartan track in the Southern Region. An added bonus is that there will be a practice track on what used to be the White City Arena which could easily be accessed by local athletes as part of the legacy benefits.
A tartan track promotes faster times as the bounce on lift off gives a spring effect to runners. The National Athletics’ Association of Zimbabwe, local organising committee will be compelled to have a wind gauge and electronic timer.
Long after the December Games, local athletes will be able to run and set times that could be considered globally. This could lead to some of them qualifying for scholarships and international competitions like the World Championships and Olympics on home soil.
In the past local athletes have had to travel to neighbouring countries in pursuit of good competition and facilities.
A senior official of the Regional Organising Committee, Mvuzo Mbebe gave Matabeleland athletics a big lift when he insisted that tower lights be erected. This will allow competitions to be held at night when temperatures are lower. This could see athletes post better times.
“There is no way Under-20s can run in these temperatures, we have to erect tower lights,” said Mbebe recently.
Former Naaz boss Joseph Mungwari welcomed the erection of the tartan track and tower lights.
“Bulawayo athletics will never be the same. It’s a welcome development and athletics will grow in leaps and bounds, we look forward to the Games and future,” said Mungwari.
He said when the University of Zimbabwe tartan track was put in place in the run up to the 1995 All-Africa Games, it was given to a private institution which did not benefit the sport much.
“This one is in the heart of the residents, a venue once the home of athletics in the region, which should be accessible to fans and athletes even after the Games,” said Mungwari on Thursday.
Mungwari was among the guests at an event used to promote the Games with the torch for the competition passing through the Midlands capital enroute to Gwanda.
A state of the art netball facility with good terracing is under construction at White City Stadium. It is set to be a multi-purpose sport venue after the Games as other indoor sports, basketball and volleyball, have suffered from lack of decent facilities over the years. The advantage with the White City court is that it is located in a central venue with accessible roads from almost every corner of Bulawayo with suburbs once home to Bekithemba Ngwenya, the late Majuta Mpofu, Boy Ndlovu, Jairos Nyirenda, Jeffrey Mlauzi, Nsikelelo Mlauzi, Ndumiso Mabhena and Nokuthula Tshabangu who made names in boxing, table tennis, football and volleyball like Njube, Lobengula, Iminyela, Old Magwegwe, Mabutweni and Mpopoma within walking distance.
Once one of the top swimming pools in the country, Borrow Swimming Pool now known as City Pool, will become a world class facility. There will be touch pads on either side for electronic timing. With this and the immaculate floodlighting national and authentic international times will be clocked.
Several Zimbabwean families were sinking a fortune into sending their children to South African Level Two and Three competitions. Some went as far East London, Port Elizabeth and Cape Town in South Africa with one thing in mind -to qualify for major swimming events.
Eddie Cyprianos has been among families driving that far taking his sons, Denilson, Andy and Brendan. Ashby Tink, Melwa Netsha, Grant Smith, Dale Bruce and Jack Oostendien are some of the swimmers that have travelled with their families there too.
With such a facility Zimbabwe will be able to play host to international competitions. Sports tourism will certainly get a good boost from the facilities that are being refurbished for the Games as travelling foreign teams will spend on services here.
The tennis courts and terraces at BAC have received a facelift that Mbebe predicted Bulawayo would soon be playing host to international facilities. There have been improvements on flood lights and a Press facility done and more terracing added.
Zimbabwe has not played host to an international event in a long time. Yet at some stage some of the sport’s biggest names played at BAC Courts.
Basketball, boxing and judo will use temporary venues. But with good branding the business community could see value in carrying on with promoting boxing at the Large City Hall.
Tarantula, Big Daddy, the late Patrick Flyer, Oliver Tengende and Big Mike Tshuma all once fought at the City Hall.
Basketball and judo will be at the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair halls.
The ceremonial home of Bulawayo football, Barbourfields Stadium, has also been refurbished with drainage systems among the improvements.
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