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Innocent Kurira, Sports Reporter

THE home of athletics in the country White City Stadium will this Sunday play host to the Bulawayo Athletics Board (BAB) track and field trials.

With a number of local and international meets coming up, athletes will be presented with the opportunity to improve their times in various events.

Athletes will take part in a number of disciplines that include high jump, long jump, triple jump, shot put, javelin, discus, 1 500m, 400m, 100m and 200m races among others.

BAB chairman, Manuel Mpofu said preparations for the event were sailing smoothly.

“Preparations are going well, we expect to have a big event. Athletes and teams are confirming their participation in numbers. 

“This is a chance for athletes to improve their times ahead of a number of upcoming events. 

“We have the African Games coming up next month, the World Championships in Doha, Qatar in September and the return of the national youth games.

“Although we are going to be using manual timing, it will present an opportunity for the athletes to improve their times while at the same time it will present a suitable practice session for the athletes as they head to their various competitions,” he said.

Questions have been raised on how and why manual timing is being used at White City Stadium when the venue was installed with state-of-the-art electronic systems during the 2014 African Union Sports Council Region Five Under-20 Youth Games. 

There have been calls for the Government to order an equipment audit for the 2014 games, amid fears that some of the installed facilities have either been vandalised or stolen.