Chronicle EditorRicky Zililo, Senior Sports Reporter
THE National Athletics Association of Zimbabwe (Naaz) has threatened to ban athletes and officials that participate in unsanctioned competitions.
Tendai Tagara, the Naaz president, indicated that his organisation was worried by increased road races disguised as fun runs or wellness events.
According to Tagara, athletes are exposed to road hazards at these unsanctioned races and he encouraged sponsors of such events to engage Naaz, who are custodians of athletics when planning any such runs.
“As Naaz we are warning people who organise illegal races that the association will not hesitate to ban the organiser and sponsor of such a race. There are people who are organising races in the name of fun runs, joggers, aerobics or get together walk, or just healthy walk. You can’t have a 42km fun run or walk where you expose athletes to the road hazards. These unsanctioned races charge high entry fees and don’t offer prizes or at times give very little prizes. We will not tolerate this anymore,” said Tagara.
He said athletics events should be sanctioned and run according to the rules of the sport. The association is governed by a Government sports Act through the Sports and Recreation Commission and there is a law to deal with illegal organisers of such events.
“When an accident occurs the Government through the SRC descends heavily on Naaz. We have living examples of athletes injured during these illegal races and some have lost their lives,” said Tagara.
He said there was a need to safeguard the lives of athletes and as such illegal races will not be allowed to continue.
“When we take corrective decisions, at times we face resistance from both the organisers and athletes but when something bad happens, athletes want us to assist them,” said Tagara.
He encouraged potential sponsors of such events to engage Naaz, which is always willing to provide technical expertise.
“Having the event sanctioned does not take the event from the organiser but it protects you as a sponsor and your brand. In 2019 we had more than 10 big companies that joined us in organising big races. Procedure for having events sanctioned can be obtained from provincial boards, the athletes commission and even Naaz national offices in Harare at the National Sports Stadium, White City Stadium in Bulawayo and in Gweru. I call upon all those who want to promote a healthy work force to come to us so that we help to organise legal and incident free races,” Tagara said. – @ZililoR
Online Reporter