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Grace Chingoma Senior Sports Reporter
TEAM Zimbabwe delegation that is set to participate at the AUSC Region 5 Games next month in Malawi have been forced to drop some athletes due to technical rules on the number of participating countries.
Zimbabwe will join 10 other countries in Lilongwe for the Games that will run from December 2 to 11.
Although Zimbabwe had wanted to carry about 220 athletes, the Team Zimbabwe delegation will have to drop some athletes in some categories from sport codes such as boxing, taekwondo, judo and athletics for the visually impaired.
Some sporting codes have low representation in terms of member countries participating in each specific category.
Chef de Mission, Masimba Mutemaringa, said according to technical rules, medals will only be awarded to events that will have five competing countries for individual sport and four for countries for a team sport.
“Medals will be awarded when we have five contestants from a minimum of three member countries would have competed.
“For team sports medals shall be awarded in an event where a minimum of four teams from members’ states would have competed.
“So the stage where we are now, we are revising our entries checking if, for example Mozambique or Malawi, have entered judo in all the weight categories, and whether Lesotho and Eswatini have also done the same,” said Mutemaringa.
Mutemaringa said they have no option but to drop some categories that are under represented.
“For example the 3000m steeplechase, you find that only four entries have been made and three athletes have been entered so this is a non-event, there is no competition so it’s not going to be a medal event.
“So even if we had entered some athletes, we will have to drop them. So the actual number of athletes, we will redefine them,” he said.
Some of the most affected codes are some weight categories in boxing, judo, taekwondo and athletics for the visually impaired 1 500m among other code categories.
The sporting code with the highest number of entries swimming has not been affected. Only the 4x100m medley relay has attracted a few entries from other member countries.
Zimbabwe will have 20 male and 20 female swimmers at the Games who must be below 20 years. The majority of these athletes are also medal hopefuls.
The 10 regional countries will battle for supremacy in 12 sporting disciplines thus athletics, basketball, boxing, E-Sports, football, gymnastics, judo, netball, swimming, taekwondo, tennis and volleyball.
Zimbabwe will compete in 11 sport codes. The Zimbabwe Football Association are suspended from international competitions, and both the men’s and women’s Under-20 football teams will miss the games due to the FIFA ban.
Initially, Team Zimbabwe wanted to send a total of 224 athletes for the Games in Malawi and had submitted a long list of entries to the African Union Sports Council Region 5.
But the technical rules mean that list would be altered drastically.
A total of 20 female and 20 male athletes have been entered in athletics, while Visual Impaired had entered 10 males and the same number for females. Athletics age-group limit is athletes who are 19 years and were born between 2003 and 2004.
Basketball will be represented by 12 athletes in both male and female teams.
The athletes must have been born from January 1, 2007, and not later than 2008. Boxing has entered six athletes in both the male and female categories and they must have been born in 2004 and 2005.
Four male gymnasts and four female gymnasts will compete in gymnastics and they must be not older than 19 years and not older than 13 years.
Judo had a total of 18 athletes for both the male and female categories but is one of the most affected codes and is likely going to send less than six athletes.
The netball team will have 12 players who must be 16-years-old by January 1, 2022. Tennis has eight players who must be below 20 years before the competition. Volleyball teams will have 12 players each.
Online Reporter