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Eddie Chikamhi, Harare Bureau
THE Minister of Sport and Recreation Makhosini Hlongwane believes the nation should start reaping rewards from the revamped National Youth Games by winning medals at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games.

Hlongwane is optimistic of the future after announcing a repackaged Games programme which is more inclusive and modelled along the basic standards expected at the Olympic stage.

Under the new strategy, the Government has proposed thorough talent identification and selection with the competitions starting from the ward level up to the national competitions.

For the first time, the Games will not only target schoolchildren as tertiary institutions, community clubs and uniformed forces have also been included in two-tier competitions involving the Under-18 and the Under-21 athletes.

Just like the process for the qualification to the Olympic Games, all sport codes will have qualification standards from the ward level.

The next edition of the National Youth Games will be held in Hwange next year.

“The focus is to make sure that in 2020, not only do we send the biggest delegation to the Tokyo Olympics but also that we send the best athletes.

“That’s why we have broadened the net of talent identification to include every athlete who aspires to be part of the national project by having Ward Youth Games.

“This is because our current structure is exclusive of those that aspire to express themselves, those that have the best talent but are not provided with the platform to deploy that talent for the benefit of our country,” said Hlongwane.

The National Youth Games are a deliberate effort by the Government to develop quality athletes who match international standards in an effort to acquire more medals especially at the Olympic Games.

However, the Government was concerned by the perennial underachievement by Zimbabwean athletes at the big stage despite the huge investment in the Youth Games.

Since independence Zimbabwe has managed only eight medals, seven of them coming from one athlete Kirsty Coventry.

The women hockey team was the first to win gold in 1980 when they stunned the world at the Moscow Games.

Hlongwane said the Youth Games, starting from Hwange 2017, will be modelled along the same lines as the Olympic Games as contained in the national Sports Policy that was launched this year.

“We have critical sporting and recreation groups that have been excluded by the current format of the National Youth Games strategy so that it becomes an all-inclusive festival of sport in the country.

“It should be the biggest, it should be the best in terms of standards, organisation and also in terms of its ability to provide athletes with an opportunity to develop their career pathways.

“We also do this in order to make sure that the national Youth Games become an important filter for the identification of talent which then lands itself to participation in the Olympics Games which is the biggest performance stage by any athlete.

“So we want all stakeholders to be an important part of this celebration which we call the revised national Youth Games strategy.

“The key point is that these games are now going to be starting in the communities throughout the country.

“At the beginning of next year we are going to block one week when the ward Youth Games will run as a way of kick-starting the process. We then move to the District Youth Games.

“Those that would have done well are promoted to the next stage by way of a select based model competition structure. It is then at the Provincial Youth Games that the selection of provincial teams is done as a way of preparing to participate for the Hwange 2017 National Youth Games,” said Hlongwane.