NAAZ to appoint committees

Ellina Mhlanga

Zimpapers Sports Hub

NATIONAL Athletics Association of Zimbabwe president Tendayi Tagara says new commissions and committees should be in place before the end of this month as they prepare for various forthcoming competitions and programmes.

The previous commissions and committees that include the governance commission, marketing commission, women’s committee, development committee, selectors committee, and the coaches committee were dissolved last month when their term of office came to an end.

With the new executive in office following the elections held last October, NAAZ are now looking into the future.

However, the athletics mother body is likely to look at continuity as some of the members from the previous commissions and committees are likely to bounce back.

“The dissolution is to make sure that after the Olympic cycle, you have strategised for that cycle.

“And these commissions have mandates of what your objective is (as an association) and what you want to achieve. So, they help you to achieve your mandate for the four years that you will be in office.

“As an executive, we are busy now looking at how best we can constitute the commissions.

“Some members of the commissions definitely will come back . . . We will be looking at how much service you have given,” said Tagara.

Some of the major events for this year include the World Championships scheduled for September in Tokyo, Japan.

And the national association has indicated major competitions, such as the world meet, will be key in building up for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games.

Tagara emphasised the importance of the various commissions towards fulfilling their mandate.

“The commissions help in the running of the organisation . . . There is no centralisation of power from one area.

“The national executive cannot run the organisation on its own.

“They bring in ideas . . . In actual fact, they are the foot soldiers of the organisation in terms of our operations: how best can we do it?” Tagara said.

The local season just got underway with provinces such as Harare holding their season opener cross-country on Sunday.

They are gearing up for their first track and field championships scheduled for this weekend at the University of Zimbabwe, while Bulawayo is scheduled to get their programme rolling this weekend when they stage a cross-country event.

Harare Athletic Board vice chairperson Aaron Whyte is hopeful of improved numbers for the track and field meet after a low turnout for Sunday’s cross country.

“There is definitely a bias towards that one (track and field) because our sprinters, most of them, didn’t come today because they know that they have got tracks next weekend.

“And this is an important year because we have got World Relays coming up, we have got World Championships coming up, we have got Southern African Senior Championships coming up, and we also have got Africa Junior Championships coming up.

“So obviously, they have now set their eyes on qualifying for those major events.

“So, we are expecting large numbers, and it will be the last weekend before kids go back to school,” Whyte said.

The juniors are looking forward to the Confederation of African Athletics Under-18/Under-20 Championships in April, in Algeria, and the African Union Sports Council Region 5 Youth Games, due to take place in Namibia, in May.