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Allen Khumalo, Sports Reporter
BULAWAYO Athletics Board (BAB) chairperson Manuel Mpofu will join representatives from other African countries in an IAAF  (International Association of Athletics Federations) management seminar that starts at the Nairobi Regional Development Centre in Kenya today.

The seminar ends on December 31.

Mpofu will be accompanied by BAB deputy secretary Caron Chashamba, who also doubles up as a coach and senior athlete.

In line with the IAAF’s Development Strategy, the seminar will offer an ideal opportunity to exchange knowledge, update coaches on the latest trends and research in their field, keeping them informed and bringing consistency and competence to them, as they play an essential role in athletes’ careers.

The overall focus is to develop technical personnel to improve competition management.

They will also be given advice and information on heats, seeding and IAAF qualifying rounds.

“I’m happy to have been seconded by the NAAZ (National Athletics Association of Zimbabwe) management committee to go and learn about competition management. This is an opportunity for the country and me to improve how we conduct our future events. As a board we appreciate the gesture shown by our federation to second us to represent the nation in Kenya. It is also an advantage to the athletes, coaches and technical officials because we are going to learn new general conducts and what these three should do to hold successful events,” said Mpofu.

He believes the seminar comes at the right time when his newly elected board is planning to give young athletes more exposure so that they can qualify for international scholarships.

“This is the first step towards achieving our goals because the board is also hoping to improve on training equipment and techniques since our main aim is to see our athletes qualifying for United States scholarships,” he said.

@khumzallen