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Lawson Madzivanyika
CHAOS reigned when the Harare Athletics Board held its National Track & Field championships at the National Sports Stadium in the capital last weekend.
There was no ambulance, no medical teams nor drinking water for athletes who converged for the event.
However, water for the officials was available in abundance.
Things boiled over when Clement Dzikiti, a Churchill High School pupil, pulled a muscle in an 800m race. His father, Richard, had to attend to him after event organisers disappeared from the scene.
The elder Dzikiti had to use ice-cream to alleviate his son’s pain after failing to get ice or cold water.
“There is no first aid team to attend to my son and I have to do it myself yet this is an event that has been organised by the Harare Athletics Board, an affiliate of the National Athletics Association of Zimbabwe.
“Surely how do you expect the sport to grow and parents to encourage their children to take up athletics when such horrible things happen at such a big stage?
“What pains me the most is that my son is a national asset, he has represented the country at international competitions but yet here he is being treated like a pauper,” fumed Dzikiti.
Clement represented Zimbabwe at the Second Youth African Championships in Mauritius last year.
His father disclosed that they wanted to use the event to work on his son’s qualification times for the World Youth Championships slated for Russia later this year.
“He is doing this for the nation and deserves some recognition, some level of support. When they went to Mauritius I forked out money to buy an air ticket and no one said thank you. How does a parent buy a ticket for an athlete going on national duty?” he asked.
Naaz vice-president Enias Nhoro, who was in attendance, acknowledged the shortcomings but absolved HAB of any wrong doing.
“Clubs and schools are told to bring their own first aid kits and personnel to such events. It will be wrong to blame HAB,” said Nhoro.
Online Reporter