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Sport is not inclusive enough as those with disabilities are not taken care of.
This has left them to taking to sport too late at an age where they cannot be taught the basics they would have quickly adapted to were they introduced while much younger.
They are sport’s forgotten lot.
National Association of Secondary School Heads vice-president Arthur Maphosa acknowledged that sport in his constituency was not as inclusive as they would have loved it to be.
He said there was improvement with the introduction of sport for people with disabilities being work in progress.
Maphosa admitted that there tended to be problems with some of the students who would be beyond school going age.
This, he said, tended to be the recipe for cheating and confirmed that Nash wanted to rid sport of such tendencies.
“We appreciate that some of our members cannot stand a situation where a good player is left out because he is older than the prescribed age-group. We have most events being for Under-16, 17 and open category which is up to Under-20. All things being equal, a student must complete A’ Level at the age of 19 at the most.
“There are some students who fail to do so because of one reason or the other, they will be over 19. There is always the temptation to use the school’s best athletes and some teachers end up cheating, we do not encourage such behaviour as it is retrogressive,” said Maphosa.
He said sport was for Fair Play encouraging good practice at all levels.
Maphosa said sport had to be inclusive with his province already a step ahead with a headmaster already in charge of sport for those disabilities.
“There is now a headmaster in Matabeleland South in charge of sport for people with disabilities. In the past these athletes have not competed in Nash organised events where as the teachers have been able to identify athletes for the Paralympic Games from schools. There is need for a harmonised approach so that there are even Nash competitions for them,” said Maphosa.
National Under-15 coach Dumaza Dube who took a team to the Junior Olympics three years ago, agreed with Maphosa.
“That is a big issue, some coaches want to win at all costs taking advantage of loopholes here and there. Schools sport have tended to be recreational games, they are not developmental,” said Dube who has been working in identifying talent for national teams for age-group teams standing out on the anti-age cheating crusade.
He has ruffled some feathers here and there especially among those who want to win at all costs and impede on the development of new talent.
Children through no fault of theirs find themselves staying away from school. Zimbabwe pupils on an average complete primary school education at the age of 12 but due to some unforseen problems including health, some are unable to do so. They end up attending school when they are14 meaning they cannot be selected for school teams.
“There has to be a way forward to ensure every kid at school is catered for.
“They are talent that can be harnessed, they should not lose opportunities because their age-group is not being catered for,” said Mkhuphali Masuku, who has worked with juniors at Grassroots.
Seven years ago, a Marula farmer with interests in transport, Farisee Mcuphi Ndebele, cornered teachers in Mangwe’s Bango area to allow every child who is a bona fide student to play in his sponsored event.
“Where is this boy expected to play? He is still a school kid, we organise events for everyone to be involved as long as he puts on a uniform and is paying fees.
“We want to develop even these seemingly over-aged boys so that they can develop their talents with everyone’s support. If we neglect them they will be lost to sport, we do not want to see them going to South Africa or bottle stores,” Ndebele had argued successfully.
He said a child was an innocent soul who needed the community’s support to overcome adversity.
A mother of two, Sinikiwe Moyo, said schools should accommodate all students when it comes to sport.
“I want my son who has a disability to start playing sport from Grade Four. We pay the same fees but most of it is spent on able-bodied counterparts on sport and other activities. Even those outside the age-groups that Nash and Naph have, should be allowed to compete. After Independence we had an open age category that catered for every student. The Under-20 limit and the many Under-16 and 17 events leave out some of the children. If I am a parent and I hear my child has been used in age-cheating I may not worry about it, since it’s the only chance he has had to play with his mates at school,” said Moyo.
Older children in younger groups have been known at times to be spoil sports.
On the other end they lose out in that they are made to behave like a younger person and are not exposed to things that their real age mates are into.
There is need for schools to cater for the older students and those with disabilities.
Online Reporter