adminEllina Mhlanga Sports Reporter
NATIONAL Athletics Association of Zimbabwe president Tendai Tagara said they are leaving no stone unturned in their quest to qualify for the Youth Olympic Games scheduled for China, Nanjing next year in August.
According to a calendar released by the national association track and field competitions will take off early January unlike in the past when the events started between end of January and February.
However, Tagara said there is need to encourage athletes to start competing early and with various international junior and youths competitions lined up for next year they need to adequately prepare for the events.
“The major events we have are the Africa Youth Games in May, the Junior World Championships from July 22 to 27 and the Youth Olympic Games in China in August. We also have the Zone Six Games in Zimbabwe.
“We have pencilled our events in a way that besides the club and mine competitions we will have two competitions every month to be looked after by the national association as part of our preparations for the Africa Youth Games in May in Botswana, then the Youth Olympic Games in China and the Zone Six Games.
“Those competitions will be organised by NAAZ to make sure that the juniors are kept in shape because athletics is all about training and competing,” said Tagara.
Tagara said they are not taking any chances on their preparations for the African Youth Games since they are the only qualifier for athletics to the YOG.
“That is the only competition for the whole of Africa, that’s why we are pushing for more competitions. If we fail to qualify for Botswana there is no other opportunity for Nanjing. Africa is given a certain number of slots for the Youth Olympic Games. For example last time we had only two slots for the 100m events and more slots in the middle and long distance events.
The NAAZ president said they are optimistic for a better year in 2014 and noted that this year they have witnessed some improvement in terms of support from parents.
“Our juniors and youths were outstanding. We managed to send a bigger team for the Youth Championships and picked our first medal in Ukraine. We also sent a team for the African Junior Championships in Nigeria.
“Support from parents has been outstanding, they are the backbone of our sport. The parents are coming on board to support like what is happening in swimming and tennis. We really appreciate it,” Tagara said.
Online Reporter