NAAZ set for Algeria Championships

Ellina Mhlanga

Zimpapers Sports Hub

FOLLOWING the announcement of the venue and dates for next year’s Confederation of African Athletics Under-18/Under-20 Championships, the National Athletics Association of Zimbabwe have confirmed they will be fielding a team at the competition.

Madagascar were, initially, expected to host the meet in June before it was recently moved to Oran, Algeria.

It will now be staged in April.

NAAZ president Tendayi Tagara said while the change of venue will have an effect on the numbers of athletes they are going to field, there will still be a Team Zimbabwe at the championships.

Tagara is also happy that confirmation of the venue helps with their planning schedule for the event.

“We are happy that at least there is a definite venue for the championships. It gives us time to prepare in terms of the team.

“The only challenge is the distance now.

“It means we will have to reduce the team. We were going to be sending a bigger team if it was closer to home, Madagascar. But now we are going to North Africa; it’s quite a distance and more expensive.

“However, we will send a team but not as big as we were expecting,” said Tagara.

NAAZ are set to release the qualifying standards for those seeking to be part of the team to represent the country in Algeria.

The local athletics mother body is also looking at partnerships in terms of funding for some of those that would have made the cut for the meet that caters to youth and junior athletes.

“In terms of preparation time, it is okay.

“We will be setting a higher qualifying standard compared to that, which will be set by CAA. The reason is we want to send people who are competitive to Algeria.

“As usual, we look forward to athletes that will be sponsored by the national association directly. We will be looking at athletes that will be sponsored by partners; we will be looking at athletes who will be sponsored by families and the schools paying for their athletes.

“We don’t want to have only athletes who will be sponsored by the association because of the limited resources . . . Remember we have so many objectives.

“Besides the association’s objectives, parents have their own objectives for their children, why they want their children to attend those competitions. So, they are welcome to (sponsor their children).

“So, we will be setting standards that will be out in the next two weeks so that athletes start to prepare for those qualifying standards,” Tagara said.

The previous edition of the championships was held in Ndola, Zambia, in 2023.

Zimbabwe picked up seven medals — three silver and four bronze.

Head coach for junior and youth teams Briad Nhubu said they are looking to start their build-up towards ensuring athletes are active and qualify for the competition.

“As a federation, we are planning to have camps in Harare and in Bulawayo, respectively.

“We had also designed a weekend programme that is aimed at promoting active participation by all eligible athletes so that we keep them in shape and fitness levels that would make them able to meet the international standards.

“As a follow-up to ensure active participation, we have also decided to attach the athletes to provincial coaches and school coaches who will monitor the day-to-day activities in pursuit of effective participation,” said Nhubu.

They also have the African Union Sports Council Region Five Youth Games to prepare for.

The regional Games are scheduled for May in Namibia.