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Nkosilathi Sibanda , [email protected]
THE Zimbabwe Handball Federation (ZHF) have said they are on course to host their first events of the year, the national open season championships, set for March 9 in Mashonaland East.
The tournament will be contested by all registered clubs and will be a curtain-raiser for the local regional leagues.
ZHF secretary general Edson Chiworodza told Zimpapers Sports Hub that they were geared to give their best in preparation for the season opening event.
Chiworodza said in their strategic planning of the 2024 calendar, they planned to accommodate tournaments that will give clubs more game time and also avail courses for officials.
“Our first event will be the Open season tournament to be hosted in Mashonaland East from March 9 to 10. Preparations have started and clubs have been alerted.
“Since this is an open tournament, we are expecting clubs to commit to play and test their readiness for other tournaments in the year,” said Chiworodza.
He said in April they planned to hold the International Handball Federation (IHF) License D coaching course in Harare.
“After staging the open season tournament, we will embark on the crucial exercise of taking our coaches through the IHF Licence D course. This will be followed by a beach handball coaching and officiating course also in Harare from May 5 to 12.
“This is part of our initiatives to capacitate our coaches on the ever-changing trends in the game and to help them stay abreast of international standards.”
From the coaching courses, Chiworodza said the next event will be the IHF Trophy Zone game, which will again be in Harare the same month.
The biggest tournament of the year in the local scene will be the club championships in December.
“The club championships will put a cap on the year’s main events. This will be an exciting year as the Zimbabwe Handball Federation will hold its elective meeting at the end of the year, where there is going to be an election for office bearers in the executive,” said Chiworodza.
Meanwhile, the Bulawayo Handball Board chairperson Taurai Ngwenya has urged teams in the city to prepare well for all national tournaments.
Last year some teams failed to compete in major tournaments citing funding constraints.
“As the year starts and the season opens, it is our hope that this time around our teams take part in all competitions. We pray to get into partnership with businesses that would want to assist the sport in Bulawayo,” said Ngwenya. – @NkosieLegend.
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