Online Reporter
Tadious Manyepo
Zimpapers Sports Hub
GOGO Irene Musakasa (76) has no time to simply cheer from the touchline. Her grandson Michael (24) is through to the football semi-finals of the Tinmac Foundation Sports Festival, but she has her own big contest to think about.
“I have won the bottle race before, I think in 2022, but I’ve been failing to make the quarter-finals in recent years,” she said.
“I’m happy Michael is also in the semi-final. I know he has the talent and his teammates are equally gifted. But I have my own race to focus on. I’ve spent the past two, three weeks preparing for this semi-final. I’m ready for the competition.”
That is life in southern Hwedza, where sport is everyone’s language. The Tinmac Foundation tournament draws villagers of every age and ability into the action. Football for men and women, netball, darts, pool, athletics, basketball, cycling, wheelchair racing, bottle and clay pot races, and traditional pastimes like hwishu, pada, nhodo, raka-raka, mafurawu and chibotoro all have a place.
On Sunday at St Thomas Aquinas Chisasike, Michael’s Dendenyore team edged Ruzane to reach the September 28 final against Dambatsoko. Gogo Musakasa also advanced to her own final in the bottle race.
The last day promises a true spectacle. Big names such as Stanford “Stix” Mutizwa, Monalisa Sibanda, Charles Manyuchi, Moses Chunga and Hwedza’s own Tafadzwa Maingire are expected to attend.
Festival patron Tino Machakaire, who is the Youth Development Minister and Hwedza South MP, said the idea goes beyond competition. “Look, the games cannot be classified as a tournament. What we looked at is that every person in the constituency should find their part across all the disciplines available. We had to create other disciplines we didn’t have last time, like traditional tsoro, foosball and draught, to accommodate everyone.
“The sporting time runs throughout the year, from late January to September when people start preparing for the summer cropping season. They also earn from their craft throughout. That way we can eliminate drug and substance abuse and keep everyone away from social menace like prostitution, crime and general waywardness.”
For Gogo Musakasa, the rewards are as much about pride as prizes. “The funny part is that bottle racing is something we grew up doing just to socialise as children. Never did we think that someday late in life we’d have to summon back the skills to transform our lives in a way. Thank you Honourable Machakaire for this,” she said.
Since its launch in 2018, the Tinmac Foundation Sports Festival has become a highlight of the Hwedza calendar. Schoolchildren, people living with disabilities and the elderly compete for prizes ranging from cash to motor vehicles, motorcycles, bicycles, wheelbarrows, kitchen utensils and farm equipment.
“The good thing is everyone gets something as long as they participate,” said Hatiwane Mukwimba, a Chisasike FC striker whose team fell in the quarter-finals. “As footballers we always look forward to this competition because it takes a league format before the eliminators. After every match we get some cash, and that has sustained our families over the past three or so years.
“I have three kids, all of them girls. Almost every day our family stories hinge on sports because all of my kids are involved. I play football, my wife plays netball. My uncle is an over-60 marathon runner. My young brother Freddy is my teammate and his wife plays raka-raka. Everyone is involved. Everyone is always trying to perfect their craft. Rarely do we argue, it’s always discussions on how to improve each other.”
In Hwedza, sport is more than pastime. It is a social glue, a way of life, and for some, like Gogo Musakasa and Michael, a family tradition they refuse to let slip.
