Vic Falls Sports Festival kicks off

Sikhumbuzo Moyo, Senior Sports Reporter
THE inaugural Victoria Falls Sports Tourism Festival gets underway this morning in the resort city, with golf, tennis and mountain biking kicking off the event.

The marathon is set for tomorrow where those that would have excelled in the tennis singles and doubles will square off in the semi-finals and finals in what is set to be a festival to remember, both for the participants and organisers, as they bid to promote sports tourism and make Zimbabwe as a country and Victoria Falls destinations of choice for both domestic and international tourists.

According to event co-ordinator Malvern Kanjere, the tennis doubles will be played on a round robin format, with a single set (six games) and no advantage system. There will be a seven-point tie break if the games are tied at 6-6.

“There will not be more than five teams per group and the top four teams per group will proceed to the semi-finals,” said Kanjere.

For the singles, there will be one short set with no advantage, and there will also be a seven-point tie break at 6-6 and each player has to be knocked out twice. The top four players will proceed to the semi-finals.

Mountain biking will be held at the Zambezi National Park Army Chalets, with the first event being the 50km race, which starts at 6am, while the 25km cycling with take-off 20 minutes later.

For the road race tomorrow, the 21,1km race starts at 6am followed by the 10km race and finally the 5km fun run.
There is likely to be some international flavour to the festival if event organisers can charm some delegates that were attending the Southern Africa Chief Justices Forum (SACJF) and the Chartered Governance and Accountancy Institute of Zimbabwe (GAIZ) conferences that were officially opened by President Mnangagwa yesterday.

The two high-level conferences ended yesterday.

Also present in Victoria Falls were ministers and senior government officials, who were urged to grace the festival by organisers.

The event is organised by Sports Tourism Incorporation in collaboration with the Zimbabwe Tourism Authority (ZTA) and Zim Bho #Zim Yami, #vakatsha, Zimparks and the Sports and Recreation Commission.