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Sikhumbuzo Moyo Senior Sports Reporter
TEAM Zimbabwe will go into a selection training camp as part of preparations for the forthcoming African Union Sports Council Region Five Under-20 Games that will be held in Bulawayo from December 4-14 this year. The venue of the training base will however depend on where most of the athletes will come from although Bulawayo looks likely to be the venue.
Team Zimbabwe spokesperson Tirivashe Nheweyembwa confirmed the developments yesterday and said Zimbabwe will also have to submit its list of names by mid May.
“Some disciplines like basketball, judo, swimming, athletics have submitted their initial lists. We intend going into camp at the end of this month to early next month,” said Nheweyembwa who is also the Sport and Recreation Commission (SRC) communications manager.
Nheweyembwa said coaches have also been given guidelines on talent identification to avoid bias that could at the end of the day come back to haunt the country during the games.
“Our total number should be 226. We want to field a strong team to enhance our chances of winning medals.
“Focus will also be on individual disciplines like athletics, judo, boxing and swimming although of course we will not ignore team sports like soccer and basketball,” he said.
In the last edition of these biennial games that were held in Zambia, Zimbabwe fielded a disappointing 46 athletes and performed dismally, coming out eighth, a far cry from a country that had in previous games, been finishing a credible second behind South Africa.
“We want to do far much better than our Zambian performance. Our aim is in fact to win these games especially as we will be at home,” said Nheweyembwa.
Team Zimbabwe has 47 coaches and managers that will take charge of athletes from the eight sports codes that athletes will compete in.
In February the coaches and managers attended a one-day induction workshop in Harare that was meant to clarify roles and responsibility for everyone so as to avoid unnecessary conflicts during the games.
Online Reporter