Garikayi challenges sports administrators

Augustine Hwata in Matopos
DAIRIBORD Schools Rugby festival director Sebastian Garikayi has urged fellow sports administrators to develop the habit of attending sports events so that they tap some knowledge which they could use when they host their own competitions. Garikayi, who is also the Sables team manager, made the remarks during his presentation at the second edition of the Sports Leaders Institute of Zimbabwe winter school held in Matopos National Park at the weekend.

The schools rugby festival, hosted by Prince Edward, is one of the largest gathering for schools rugby in Africa.

“To be able to successfully host an event, one should go out there and watch how other people hold their events.

“I make it a point to go and watch other events and learn a thing or two that will help when we are doing our own events.

“Sometimes we can learn by copying the good things that others do and we can also learn by seeing mistakes made by other people at their competitions,” said Garikayi.

Garikayi, who is also the Harare Athletics Board chairperson and Prince Edward’s sports director, advised the delegates at the three day workshop that successful events came as a result of proper planning and implementation.

“Events need proper planning and implementation to be very successful. For example we have already started holding meetings for the Dairibord Rugby Festival for next year,” said Garikayi.

Speaking at the same forum, Watershed College’s sports director Tawanda Hove said physical education teachers at schools and tertiary colleges should explain to athletes and students’ why and how tasks like warm up and warm downs are done.

Hove also said the local universities and teachers colleges were not doing enough to produce athletes who can be in the national teams.

“Most of the players in the national teams like the Under-23 football are coming from clubs while that is the same age group that should be at universities and colleges.

“I think the coaching some of the athletes are receiving at schools and colleges does not develop them into elite athletes.

“One of the challenges is that most coaches and sports masters were never elite athletes themselves and cannot inspire their students to take sports seriously as a career,” he said.

Another presenter at the seminar, Russell Mhiribidi, spoke on ethics in sports and said age cheating at schools and the inclusion of ghost students at tournaments will only serve to discourage right-aged players from further pursing sports as they will be blocked.

The Sports Leaders Institute of Zimbabwe also invited Sombwe Musunza from the National Olympic Committee in Zambia who presented a paper on the success and challenges being faced by youth athletes from the Southern African region while Lysias Charumbira from National University of Science and Technology spoke on branding and marketing in sports.

More than 75 people, mainly drawn schools, tertiary colleges and clubs attend the three day SLIZ seminar where they received certificates on Sunday.

Premiership clubs CAPS United and FC Platinum also sent their representatives.

SLIZ secretary general Lorine Dewe said they were happy with the increase in the number of participants after their inaugural winter school in 2014 had drawn only five people.