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Harare Bureau
DELEGATES to the third edition of the Sports Management Winter camp in Masvingo will this weekend get an insight into the new Government policy on physical education and sport that is set to be rolled out in schools across the country next year.

This follows a smooth partnership now existing between the Sports Leaders’ Institute of Zimbabwe and the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education.

SLIZ will this weekend host a winter management camp for sports leaders from various sectors around the country with their theme being centred on the partnership they have established with the government in promoting physical education and sport as a new curriculum in schools.

The institute’s director Russell Mhiribidi who is expecting a full house in Masvingo said they had also resolved to use the management camps as a platform that promotes sport tourism and the delegates, some of whom will be drawn from Kenya, Zambia and Ethiopia will get a chance to tour the iconic Great Zimbabwe monument.

“The guests have arrived with Dr Devota Marwa from Tanzania already in the country, part of the Kenyan delegation is early tomorrow and the Zambians will also arrive tomorrow and the final Kenyan will be in camp just in time for his presentation on Saturday.

“We are ready and good to go from a planning perspective, everything is in place. We will tour the great Zimbabwe monuments as a way of promoting sports tourism and camp guests will have the rare privilege of watching live local artistes Buffalo X and Jeffarai perform their Sport ethics themed songs for the first time ever,’’ Mhiribidi said.

But it is their partnership with the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education that SLIZ are excited about given too that over the years a large contingent of the management camps delegates are drawn from educational institutions.

Prince Edward High School headmaster Agrippa Sora and the acting Sport and Recreation Commission director-general Joseph Muchechetere are some of the key local speakers who will make presentations at the three-day indaba.

Mhiribidi also applauded the government for their move to roll out the physical education and sport curriculum in schools arguing that the policy augured well for the development of sport in the country.

“The Ministry wants to roll out the physical education and sport syllabus, which will be implemented in 2017. Physical education is the foundation upon which sport is built whether you are warming or cooling down.

“With PES as a syllabus in schools, we will have sports literate arte people across the board from sponsors, athletes and administrators.

“And with the policy starting from the ECD A (Early Childhood Development) up to A-level, it will be a game changer for sport in the country as you know that the largest base of athletes in the country is in the schools.

“A lot is said about catching the athletes young but with such camps one gets to appreciate and understand what exactly we will be doping because you need to apply the right basic fundamentals.

“Delegates will get a chance to appreciate the policy in a relaxed environment that is laced with professionals some of who have a lot of experiences to share’’.

With part of the camp’s programme reserved for networking, the participants will also get a chance to interact with the regional sports gurus such as Tanzania’s Marwa who will be in attendance.

Mhiribidi said SLIZ was also challenging sports leaders in schools to go into mainstream administration in the national associations in order to also articulate the development thrust which Zimbabwe’s sport has been yearning for over the years. This weekend’s winter camp could also be beneficial to those seeking to set up academies because there is “more to it than just coaching’’.

“One needs to understand marketing principles, administrative knowledge and top it with coaching and you need to learn from those who have the experience and have tackled such challenges before,’’ Mhiribidi said.