Online Reporter
Ellina Mhlanga
Zimpapers Sports Hub
THE Hockey Association of Zimbabwe have put in motion their preparations for the upcoming Junior Series set for August.
The event is pencilled for August 13 to 16 in Harare.
Namibia, Zambia, Botswana, Eswatini and South Africa will join the hosts.
The tournament will see Under-13, Under-16 and Under-18 boys and girls taking part.
HAZ president, Humphrey Chigwedere, said the series forms part of their wider development plan.
“This is the fourth edition.
“Actually, it started just as an initiative to create meaningful international exposure for our young players.
“But, as you can see now, it has developed into a fully-fledged Southern Africa Premier Junior Hockey Tournament.
“And, this tournament forms the central part of our wider development plan.
“Our wider plan is to take hockey to the grassroots. So, we think tournaments such as this one can afford our players from the grassroots or even from the elite playing schools an opportunity to grow the sport.
“Eventually, we then want to move on to elite performance. We are rebuilding our structures in a sustainable way so that we grow from grassroots all the way to high performance,” said Chigwedere.
The tournament has seen their regional counterparts coming on board with Eswatini joining in last year.
South Africa have come on board for this year’s edition.
Chigwedere said they are excited to have one of the top hockey playing nations gracing the series.
“The numbers have actually grown. South Africa is coming in. They have not been taking part…And the last edition, Eswatini was an addition.
“It’s actually growing. If you look at the composition, it shows that most of the Southern African hockey playing nations are coming.
“Unfortunately, some of our colleagues in Southern Africa do not play hockey, or if they are playing hockey, it’s still at infant stages, such as Mozambique and Lesotho.
“South Africa is top, and it’s exciting for us to have them around because then it means our competition increases. We then get good competition.
“They are a powerhouse in Africa, in fact, so we are excited about that. It increases our competition, and it is good exposure for our young players as well to play against the best,” said Chigwedere.
HAZ are also looking creating interest around the sport and increase their numbers.
