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Innocent Kurira, [email protected]

THE fourth edition of the White City Stars Academy Track and Field Championships will take place on October 16 at White City Stadium in Bulawayo.

Organisers of the competition say they want to make the event bigger and better than the previous competitions.

Already, the Bulawayo Athletics Board (Bab) has opened registration for the event.

“We are looking forward to the event which has continued to grow with each passing year. We are grateful to the founder of the academy Manuel Mpofu who continues to ensure we have this competition on our calendar. It’s the fourth edition this year and we are hoping for an increased number of athletes from outside the country taking part just like in the previous edition. Last year the event had partners including Econet, Sports Zone, and Drug Free Zimbabwe. We want to see more partners this year. Registration is in progress, ” said Bab chairman Watson Madanyika.

Events on offer are 100m, 110m hurdles, 200m, 400m, 400m hurdles, 800m, 1 500m, 3 000m, 5 000m, 4x100m relay, 4x400m relay, long jump, triple jump, high jump, javelin, shot put, discus.

Entry fees are pegged at $US 3 for the relays, $US2 for the seniors, and $US1 for the juniors.

The previous editions of the competition have seen sponsorship from Zimbabwe’s former triple jump record holder Ndabazihle Mdhlongwa and Arnold Payne’s Africa Children’s Hope Foundation.

Mobile network operator Econet has also in the past chipped in with T-shirts and other accessories.

The club held its first event in 2021 which attracted more than 100 competitors from Bulawayo, Matabeleland North, and Matabeleland South.

In the last two years, athletes from around Zimbabwe have attended the competition which continues to grow.

-@innocentskizoe