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Leonard Ncube [email protected]

BUBI District amassed 59 medals as they dominated Matabeleland North provincial National Association of Secondary School Heads (Nash) athletics finals held at Mosi-oa-Tunya High School in Victoria Falls. All Matabeleland North’s seven districts-Bubi, Binga, Hwange, Lupane, Nkayi, Tsholotsho and Umguza participated the competitions as athletes braved the scorching heat and sporadic showers. At the en d of the day, the province selected a team of 120 athletes to represent Matabeleland North at the Nash national finals to be hosted by Matabeleland North at the same venue from 19 to 22 March.

It was a day to remember for Victoria Falls residents who thronged Mosi-oa-Tunya School grounds in numbers showing solidarity not only with the host district, but with sport in general as Victoria Falls continues to position itself as a sports tourism destination. The Government is pursuing a revitalised tourism agenda under the National Tourism Growth and Recovery Strategy launched by President Mnangagwa in 2020 and the need to come up with new products and activities is top on the agenda. Sports, religious, cultural, and gastronomy tourism are some of the new products being pursued.

Victoria Falls was selected as the perfect venue as Matabeleland North hosts the 2024 Nash athletics competition. After two days of competition, Bubi were the victors with 24 gold medals, 21 silver and 14 bronze, closely beating Lupane who garnered 22 gold, 19 silver and 19 bronze. The host district Hwange were 3rd with 17 gold, 17 silver and 18 bronze while Umguza settled for 4th with 17 gold, 15 silver and nine bronze. Nkayi was a distant 5th with nine gold, 8 silver and nine bronze while Tsholotsho got seven gold, nine silver and 19 bronze.

Bubi district celebrate their win

Binga district finished last with four gold, 11 silver and 12 bronze. Organisers and Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education officials acknowledged the improvement in level of competition which they said showed the province had grown in sport and was ready to climb the ladder at national level. Matabeleland North Provincial Education Director Jabulani Mpofu called for unity of purpose and hard work both among athletes and their coaches.

“May I take this opportunity to thank Nash Matabeleland North for organising a provincial competition of such high magnitude bringing together all the seven districts of Matabeleland North. These competitions are a dry run to a bigger competition in two weeks’ time.

“We should not go back and relax as we are coming back here for the national competition. I was in Harare two days ago and people are eager to come to Victoria Falls. Lets make sure we work hard because we don’t want to be beaten in our backyard. So from here don’t relax. We are not districts anymore, we are Team Matabeleland North. I wish you the best and I want to tell you that what I am seeing here, the calibre and quality of athletes, I am impressed. I am sure you will be number one. If you are not going to be Number one, I will eat one of my shoes,” said Mpofu. He thanked the corporate world for supporting sport.

He challenged school heads to subscribe to Nash and Naph to sustain the organisations. The team will camp at Fatima High School in Lupane starting on Tuesday. Mr Mpofu challenged coaches to work together. George Silundika High School head Abraham Netha Mathonsi is the provincial head-in-charge athletics Mosi-oa-Tunya High School head Roland Sibanda is the national head-in-charge of athletics. Sicelo Dube, head for Tsholotsho High and is Matabeleland North Nash chair said the 2024 provincial competitions had improved form previous years. Hundreds of Victoria Falls residents joined hundreds of learners to watch the games.

“We have a total of 558 athletes gathered here from the seven districts. Binga 84, Hwnage 105, Lupane 80, Nkayi 60, Bubi 75, Umguza 80, Tsholotsho 74. We want to inform you that this started from school level. 110 school heads are here, 102 technical trained official, 70 coaches, all Matabeleland secondary and high schools are here.

“We have witnessed two-days of sporting extravaganza and 120 athletes have been selected for the national competitions which are due in two weeks time to represent Matabeleland North All provinces held their provincial finals on Thursday and Friday in preparation for the upcoming national competitions,” he said. Athletes competed in javelin, short put, high jump, long jump, discuss, triple jump, and track events.

Over the years Matabeleland North would host its athletics activities in Bulawayo at the National University of Science and Technology and this is the first time the province is hosting the event on its own land and Victoria Falls happens to be the perfect venue. Some would have preferred Hwange Colliery Stadium but the ground has limited tracks as it has less than the standard 10. Some residents grabbed the opportunity to sell various kinds of goods as the event is a boost to tourist and local business. In Bulawayo, Mzilikazi District emerged winners at the provincial competitions held at White City Stadium and the province selected a team to represent Bulawayo at the Nash nationals