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Ricky Zililo, Senior Sports Reporter
THE KEYNOTE speaker at the Sports Leaders Institute of Zimbabwe’s (SLIZ) Summer Camp to be held this week at the Eastern Highlands resort of Nyanga, Dr Joyce Sisa Ndabi of Tanzania jets in today with organisers saying they are ready for the meet.

Ndabi, from the University of Dar es Salaam leads a cast of foreign delegates attending the three-day conference which starts on Friday.

He will make a presentation on physical activity and the girl child while Zambia’s Musunsa Sombwa will tackle sport ethical issues which include age cheating.

The sports management camp, is a platform for administrators to brainstorm and come up with solutions to challenges faced in the development of athletes.

Participants will also get an insight into the new Government policy on physical education and sport (PES) that is set to be rolled out in schools across the country next year.

“The foreign delegates start arriving on Wednesday and among the first batch will be Tanzania’s Dr Joyce Sisa Ndabi who is our keynote speaker.

There is also a group of Kenyans and Nigerians who are coming for the conference who will arrive on Thursday.

“Officials from the African Sports Management Association (ASMA) are also coming to officiate at the Summer Camp.

“We are ready for the Summer Camp in Nyanga which will be bigger than the previous edition we held in Kariba last year,” Russell  Mhiribidi, the SLIZ director.

Up to 267 people attended the Sliz summer camp last year in Kariba, with 67 registering at the venue.

As of yesterday, 220 people had registered for the Summer Camp, with Bulawayo and Midlands Provinces having a combined 55.

“For the first time we have Bulawayo being among the first to register with 20 people paying for the camp. Midlands have 35 people so far with 165 being from other provinces.

“We are looking at having 400 people attending the camp. Most of the participants are from primary and secondary schools, tertiary institutions, government departments and sports associations,” Mhiribidi said.

He said his organisation’s goal is to complement Government efforts of developing sport by introducing PES as an examinable subject.

“PES is going to be a game changer for sport in the country and with the largest base of athletes in the country being in schools, there’s need to prepare and train the trainers who in this case are teachers.

“Our targets for the summer camp are those in the education sector as well as sporting associations because they’re the key people in terms of sport development,” said Mhiribidi

@ZililoR