Chronicle Editor
Simba Jemwa, Sports Reporter
A group of pool enthusiasts in Bulawayo are focusing their efforts into the sport’s development and have opened their own academy at Queens Sports Club, giving local talent the chance to improve their skills.
Founded in December last year, the project is called Queens Pool Academy and has bought 13 top-of-the-range tables after getting into partnership with Queens Sports Club. It welcomes pool enthusiasts of any age but is particularly focused on children as young as five who show an interest in the sport.
“Our vision is to develop players into world-class competitors who are able to compete at any level and assist those with interest in the sport to develop relevant skills. So far, we have 13 pool tables after we got into partnership with Queens Sports Club which provided the venue,” said the academy’s president, Tawanda Mupenzwa.
He said they have also opened a pool room in Plumtree whose objectives are similar to what the academy at Queens intends to achieve.
“We are going to start with 50 members and see how it will grow from there,” said Mupenzwa.
Asked about the safety of their younger members, Mupenzwa said Queens Sports Club is a sporting club whose doors are open to anyone whether young or old.
He however, said the sports club has a clear policy when it comes to minors.
“As a club, it does not allow minors into the bar area of the club and minors are also protected from any use of foul language and any form of indecent exposure or physical abuse,” said Mupenzwa.
The academy will have two groups of players which are the players under the age of 21 and the masters who will be 21 years and above.
Its executive consists of members from other clubs with interest in seeing the development of players within the region.
Members of the executive are Mupenzwa (president), Archford Scholtz (vice president), Kuda Shoko (development officer), Joseph Dongo (secretary-general), Reliance Ndou (player representative) while the posts of treasurer and committee member positions are yet to be filled.
The academy has played host to premier events such as Zimbabwe Tertiary Institution Students’ Union (Zitusu) Games, National Pool Association of Zimbabwe (Nepaz), the National Elite Players of Zimbabwe Tournament, the Bulawayo Weekly Tournament league games and the Queens weekly tournament. The academy has also hosted a National Women’s Pool association (NWPA) national tournament.
Mupenzwa said Queens Sports Club has been excellent in supporting the initiative and it is the academy’s hope that good relations will be maintained.
Queens Sports Club president, Ntuthuko Gabellah welcomed the initiative and said his executive is behind the academy.
“We are a sports club and as a sports club, if our members come up with such initiatives, we support them. We think this project will put our club and the academy on the map as the top venue for both development and competition,” said Gabellah.
The academy is focused on grooming disciplined players who will not only compete internationally but also increase exposure of the game to schools and colleges. It is also hoping to combat drug abuse among the unemployed youths. — @RealSimbaJemwa
Online Reporter