Ellina Mhlanga Sports Reporter
THE much-awaited International Association of Athletics Federation Level Two course for sprints and hurdles that had been set for this month in Bulawayo has been moved to January, 2019 due to the unavailability of the international expert who was scheduled to come to Zimbabwe.
The course was supposed to be conducted by Rudiger Harksen from Germany but the international federation will now be sending another lecturer.
The course that was set for December 8 to 15 is now slated for January 10 to 17 next year with 15 coaches going through the training programme.
Zimbabwe were granted the greenlight to hold the course after successfully holding the Level Two coaching course in jumps in September. NAAZ president, Tendai Tagara, confirmed the latest development.
“The International Level Two sprint and hurdles course that was earmarked to be conducted in December in Zimbabwe has been shifted to January 2019. The course will start on the 10th of January to the 17th. “This has been necessitated by the unavailability of the international lecturer who is based in Germany. The International Federation informed us that the lecturer will only be available in January, that’s why we have shifted the dates,” said Tagara.
The national association has been on a drive to improve the sport and with the country currently struggling in track events, they are pushing to have more qualified coaches that can help athletes reach their full potential in that area.
Also with coaching trends changing over the world and now more scientific, Tagara said it is necessary to equip their coaches with the right skills.
And the NAAZ president said they are pleased with the interest shown by coaches, in particular those from the schools system where most of the talent is identified. “We are happy with the response of our coaches especially from the schools system. We are happy with the support from Nash and Naph for these coaches because these are the same coaches that handle the most important level of athletes – the cadets, youths and the juniors.
“So the more coaches we have from the school system, the better for us for development of athletics and the future of athletics in this country.
“We are hoping that Zimbabwe, by running this course, will be one of the only two countries in Africa with more than 10 coaches with this qualification. So the world body also recommended that we host this course again. It’s very difficult to get this course from the international federation.
“But we are happy we managed to convince them that we want this course in Zimbabwe. So we will be running this course along the guidance of the international federation that will be seconding the international lecturer for sprint and hurdles,” said Tagara.
The national athletics motherbody is already setting the stage for next year when the season starts on January 5 with the national season-opener cross country in Harare.
Some of the major competitions lined up for next year include the Confederation of African Athletics Under-18 and Under-20 Championships in April, Cote D’Ivoire as well as the World Championships in Doha, Qatar, in September.
source: the herald
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