Local sports institute partners USA varsity

LEADING sports management organisation aï¿½ï¿½ the Sports Leaders Institute of Zimbabwe (SLIZ) aï¿½ï¿½ have partnered with the West Virginia University in the USA in a move that will see a top academic from the tertiary institution coming into country for the 5th edition of the Sports Management Winter Camp next week.

The Sports Management Winter Camp will run from 6 to 8 July in Victoria Falls and Dr Gonzalo Bravo aï¿½ï¿½ an associate professor at the West Virginia University aï¿½ï¿½ has been invited as the keynote speaker at the annual event.

He will be addressing local sports leaders drawn from colleges, universities, secondary and primary schools, sporting associations and clubs, as well as sports officers from Government arms, such as the Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Services and the police.

Bravoaï¿½ï¿½s invitation comes in the aftermath of a visit to the West Virginia University by SLIZ president Russell Mhiribidi in March where a deal was sealed that will see the organisation run courses in conjunction with the tertiary institution and send sports leaders to the United States on exchange programmes.

aï¿½?Dr Bravo is an associate professor with vast experience in sports development, particularly in developing countries as he is a Chile, South American, native and his address will touch on issues that are similar to those affecting Zimbabweans when it comes to sports development.

aï¿½?We are expecting more than 250 participants for this yearaï¿½ï¿½s edition of the Sports Management Winter Camp and some of the topics that will be discussed include ethical decision making in sports organisation as well as group discussions among the participants in between the camp,aï¿½? said SLIZ president Mhiribidi.

The visiting Bravo, born in Santiago, Chile, completed a masteraï¿½ï¿½s degree in Sport Administration from Penn State University and a PhD in Sport Management from the Ohio State University.

He joined West Virginia University in 2004.

West Virginia University, who are highly rated in the United States, dispatched one of their top lecturers in sport management, Floyd Jones, for an international sports management Level 1 Continuing Education Certificate Course in October last year.

Jones delivered a lecture whose main topic was: aï¿½?The globalisation of sport management as an academic discipline, a science based approach to managing sport in Zimbabweaï¿½ï¿½aï¿½ï¿½.