White City gets timing tech back on track for national champs

DESPITE limited use since 2014 due to malfunctions, the electronic timing system at White City Stadium in Bulawayo is poised for a comeback. Today, the National Athletics Association of Zimbabwe (Naaz) will utilise the system during their inter-provincial championships.

An international expert has been brought in specifically to set up the system. He began work on Thursday and continued yesterday, with Naaz holding their breath for a successful activation. Bulawayo Athletics Board (BAB) chairperson Watson Madanyika remains optimistic about the system’s functionality.

“The response from the expert has been positive. Everything is pointing to the positive and it’s most certain the system will be in use. This will help us get accurate times as we prepare for international meets. Provinces have started arriving and we anticipate a highly competitive meet,” said Madanyika.

The electronic timing system has had limited use since its installation for the 2014 African Union Sports Council Region Five (5) Youth Games in the city. The system includes a wireless false start detector, wind speed ultrasonic wind measurement, MacPhoto finish timing scoreboard, LED field scoreboard, starting blocks and video wall.

Recently the MacPhoto finish line camera was in Belgium for repairs and should now be fully functional. When the system was installed in 2014, contractors failed to meet the deadline for completion of the athletics track at White City, leaving only a 100m stretch meeting international standards.

The championships today will be used as a selection event for the African Senior Championships to take place in Douala, Cameroon, from June 20 to 26. Events on the cards include 100m, 200m, 400m, 1 500m, 3 000m, 5 000m, 100m hurdles and 4x100m relay as well as long jump, high jump, triple jump, javelin and discus.

The event is sponsored by Baldmin Holdings, whose founder and managing director is Costa Takawira, a former athlete. Baldmin Holdings, a firm with interests in mining and medical supplies has in the past few years through its foundation, funded athletics competitions held in Harare, Bulawayo and Mashonaland Central respectively.

Takawira is a man determined to transform the lives of young Zimbabweans, especially girls, by paying school fees for them and at the same time providing scholarship opportunities to overseas institutions.–@innocentskizoe