Sunday News
6 June 2010
Talking sport with Phineas Mukwazo
OVER the years Zimbabwean athletes have carried the Zimbabwean flag with pride when participating both regional and internationally.
Some of the world-acclaimed athletes who come to mind in that regard are Brian Dzingai, Lewis Banda, Tendai Chimusasa, Savieri Ngidhi, Cuthbert Nyasango, Samukeliso Moyo, Young Talkmore Nyongani, Sharon Tawengwa, Tabitha Tsatsa, George Majaji, Tendai Chimusasa, the list is endless. Recently 34-year-old Stephen Muzhinji further underscored the competitive nature and resilience of our athletes when he successfully retained the grueling Comrades Marathon title in South Africa. Some of the afore-mentioned athletes have since retired or are on the verge of calling it quits. It is, therefore, incumbent upon the athletics authorities in this country to close gap by emphasising on the equivalent of what in soccer circles is known as a vibrant junior development policy.
It is with that in mind, that it is disturbing when one learns that standing in between such benevolent developmental initiatives are useless squabbles that at best border on sheer selfishness.
I was privileged to be in Botswana for the well attended and anticipated Confederation of African Athletics Southern Region and 2010 Youth Olympic Games Qualifiers at the University of Botswana Stadium in Gaborone recently. I was impressed about how youth athletes are valued in other countries. It has to be said that while our athletes had to scrounge for transport to take them to the Games, Lesotho athletes traveled in a bus belonging to their equivalent of our Sports and Recreation Commission, while the team from Swaziland traveled in the comfort of a bus provided by David Coltart’s equivalent ministry here. That is how it is supposed to be.
Disturbing as it were, elsewhere in our sports pages this week we carry a story that the young innocent Zimbabwe athletes could have missed participating in Youth Olympics Games qualifiers in Botswana last month after the Zimbabwe Olympic Committee(ZOC) allegedly withdrew funding for the trip at the last minute following a misunderstanding with the National Athletics Associations of Zimbabwe(NAAZ).
It has since emerged that NAAZ were left clutching at straws when ZOC withdrew their support at the last minute and the athletics governing mother body had to resort to the begging bowl to complement their meager resources so that the under-18 athletes could make the trip.
Sources within the athletics camp that traveled with the team to Botswana spoke of personality clashes pitting individuals at ZOC and NAAZ, although the blame was squarely laid on the former.
It can also be noted that these were the same underprivileged youngsters who could not prepare adequately for the final qualifiers. It is on record that the youngsters failed to go to camp last December and take part in the South African Yellow Pages as part of their preparations for the finale. We therefore implore both the ZOC and NAAZ, as we have done in the past, to settle their differences once and for all for the benefit of the development of athletics in this country.
We will not proffer any solutions this time around, but we can only advise that great leaders never set themselves above their followers except in carrying responsibilities.
This can only be done if both recognise their responsibilities in the whole jigsaw puzzle; ZOC sticking to its mandate of financing developmental and talent identification initiatives by NAAZ.
A final word of advice should be that:
“In a controversy, the instant we feel angry, we have already ceased striving for the truth, and have begun striving for ourselves.â€