adminEllina Mhlanga Sports Reporter
SEVEN national sport associations yesterday received various equipment for their respective fields from the Zimbabwe Olympic Committee worth US$30 000.The associations that received the equipment include the National Athletics Association of Zimbabwe, Basketball Union of Zimbabwe, Zimbabwe Netball Association, Tennis Zimbabwe, Triathlon Zimbabwe, Zimbabwe Volleyball Association and Zimbabwe Rugby Union.
ZOC is a beneficiary of the Olympic Solidarity NOC activities Grant whose guidelines stipulate that support for affiliates should cover training and education programmes, assistance in purchasing equipment and participation in competition.
The equipment included balls, running spikes, megaphones, nets, rackets and stopwatches.
Speaking at a function held at ZOC offices, Director of Policy Planning and Co-ordination in the Ministry of Sport, Arts and Culture, Netsai Masiyanise urged the national associations to use the equipment wisely.
“We encourage national sport associations receiving the equipment to use it in the best interest of sport development and consideration should be made for equitable distribution to areas that have lesser resources.
“National associations’ administrators should invest time and resources into planning and implementation of activities as this is their mandate and responsibility.
“We want you as associations to work with us as the ministry,” said Masiyanise.
ZOC president, Admire Masenda, said this was an on-going programme that will benefit other national associations over the next four years.
“ZOC through an Olympic Solidarity supported programme called the NOC Activities Grant has purchased equipment for selected national associations who are affiliated to ZOC.
“This is an ongoing programme that will benefit other national associations over the next four years. Targeted first were ZOC prioritised sports, those in good standing and sporting disciplines that are under consideration for the Africa Youth Games, though not all,” Masenda said.
ZOC also used the platform to present the chefs de mission for the Africa Youth Games and the second Summer Youth Olympic Games, Addison Chiware and Titus Zvomuya respectively.
The Africa Games will be held in Botswana in May and the YOG are set for China in August. ZOC also presented the young ambassador for YOG Rukudzo Gona.
“The country has just successfully participated at its first Winter Olympic Games which were held in Sochi, Russia. Zimbabwean athlete, Luke Steyn gave a very good account of himself and certainly did the nation proud.
“ZOC is also preparing to participate at the second Africa Youth Games to be held in Gaborone in May and the second Summer Youth Olympic Games which will be held in Nanjing, China in August,” said Masenda.
On the qualification process for both events, ZOC chief executive, Anna Mguni said there is some progress with rowing, swimming and equestrian having some athletes that have qualified.
“For the Africa Youth Games really it’s about associations coming through and giving us credible potential athletes to go to the Africa Youth Games.
“It’s very much open, there is quarter that allows you for example a maximum of 10 athletes in athletics. So we have to look at what the association has in terms of the athletes that they have and the times and the records that are available in the disciplines that are there.
“For the Nanjing Youth Olympic Games there is a lot of progress being made, this is also being made at association level. We have qualified two athletes in swimming, two slots in rowing, two boats and one in equestrian,” said Mguni.
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