adminThis will be a first for Zimbabwe who last held a continental wheelchair basketball competition just after the 1995 All Africa Games.
Walter Ndlovu, a member of the Zimbabwe Wheelchair Basketball Association, yesterday said they were in the process of communicating with the Zimbabwe Paralympic Committee (zpc) to establish whether it was possible for the country to host the games.
“This is a first for us and to be given an invite to host the 2013 Africa Cup Championships shows that the international federation has confidence in us.
Now the onus is on us to let IWBF know whether we have the capacity to host the games or not.
“As I speak to you, I am travelling from Victoria Falls to Harare to meet the ZPC to discuss this offer,” said Ndlovu.
For the country to play host to the continental competition, it must have facilities for the games.
Sporting disciplines for people with disabilities like wheelchair basketball and volleyball have been played at the Bulawayo Club for the Disabled (BCD). Able-bodied athletes for the above disciplines are also using the venue.
The BCD last got a major facelift just before the 1995 All Africa Games. It will have to be refurbished in case the country decides to play host to next year’s Africa Cup
Championships.
Ndlovu was hopeful that ZPC would manage to convince the country’s supreme sports body, the Sport and Recreation Commission, to vouch to play host to the continental competition.
“What I know is that funds will be availed to us by the IWBF to develop our wheelchair basketball facilities which we would like to use for the 2012 Africa Cup. We need the blessings of the Government through the SRC to make sure that we manage to get this tournament coming to Zimbabwe.
“If we manage to have this competition, I am sure that people with disabilities will be happy. The legacy that the games will leave will last forever as we are going to have good infrastructure, among other things,” said Ndlovu.
The Victoria Falls Wheelchair Warriors is the only club that has been actively involved in regional competitions. Last September they took part at the South African National
Wheelchair Basketball competition that was held in Durban.
Two of their players, Nomatter Chigwinya and Francis Ndlovu, are regulars in the Zimbabwe national wheelchair basketball team.
There are also other national team players who are playing for some clubs in South Africa and these are Daniel Nyuke, Ramson Manjiva and Fredy Kanyaubvu.
Johane Marufu, a member of the Zimbabwe Wheelchair Basketball Association and chairman of the Bulawayo Metropolitan Province Wheelchair Tennis Association, said they were in the process of reviving clubs in the City of Kings.
“We have a number of sportspersons like Silayezelo Sly and Samson Muroyiwa who do wheelchair racing, basketball and tennis. We have encouraged people living with disabilities to play as many sporting disciplines as possible and we are also going to be setting up clubs with the hope of having some of our players competing in the Africa Cup Championships,” Marufu said.
Online Reporter