The ZOC General Manager then made a presentation on Volunteer Management. The presentation was aimed at enhancing National Sports Associations’ capacity to recruit and retain volunteers for effective implementation of their programmes and activities. The presentation was well received and generated positive interactive discussions during which delegates ultimately requested ZOC to organise a specific workshop for National Sports Associations to deal with volunteer management issues. Such educational presentations are a permanent feature on the Bulawayo Stakeholders meeting programme. Last year (2007) the presentation was on Olympism and its applicability into the running of National Sports Associations.

The Bulawayo Stakeholders meeting is a permanent annual activity on the ZOC Calendar which ZOC is proud to have religiously held for the past six years. By and large, the meeting was a resounding success from which all delegates benefited immensely. ZOC will continue to invest in activities that aim to narrow the gap between the National Olympic Committee and National Sports Association in addition to other ZOC strategies that include the website www.zoc.co.zw as well as the monthly in-house publication, “The ZOC Review”.


[ Posted: 20-June-2008 (05:00 hrs)]

In a much-anticipated Olympic year, Coventry has dominated the international swimming scene. In February, the 24-year-old swimmer broke the second oldest record in swimming (16 years) when she swam the 200-metre backstroke in a world-record time of 2 minutes 06.39 seconds at the Missouri Grand Prix.

And she was duly rewarded for this remarkable achievement by being named the United States Sports Academy Female Athlete of the Month for February for the first time this year. The award was just the tonic that Coventry needed as she prepared for the Fina World Short-course Championships in Manchester, England, in April.

In Manchester, Coventry was just like a ball of fire as she, among other notable achievements, broke the world’s oldest short-course record. Setting her third world mark and winning her fourth gold medal, Coventry swam the 200-metre individual medley in 2:06.13, shattering American Allison Wagner’s 14-year-old mark of 2:07.79.

Apart from setting three world records in Manchester, Coventry also came out with a five-medal haul — four gold, and one bronze.

And that was good enough to earn her the special award of Best Female Swimmer at the end of the five-day championships in Manchester. Coventry took home the Fina Women’s Trophy and it was the second time in her illustrious career that she has won this special award.

And if winning the Fina Women’s Trophy in Manchester was not enough for Coventry, she went on to be crowned the United States Sports Academy Female Athlete of the Month for April, clinching the award for the second time this year. The voting for Coventry was nearly unanimous, with Justin Upton and Charlotte Morgan each receiving a single vote.

Upton, the former Mobile BayBears outfielder, batted .340 with five home runs and 15 RBIs in the month of April. He is currently seventh in the National League with a .347 average for the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Alabama sophomore pitcher Charlotte Morgan was a consensus national player of the week after she gave up one earned run in shutouts against Samford and then — No. 10 LSU. She worked all six innings for her third complete-game shutout of the season, as the Crimson Tide clinched the Southeastern Conference Western Division title with a 4–0 victory over Arkansas.

The Academy’s Alabama Athlete of the Month is selected by a voting committee comprising former Alabama athletes, members of the statewide media and representatives of Alabama sports organisations. Each winner is automatically added to the Alabama Athlete of the Year ballot at the end of the calendar year.

The Alabama Athlete of the Year Award is given to an athlete beyond the high school level who was either born in, is currently playing in, or has previously participated in sports at any level within the state of Alabama. The United States Sports Academy is an independent, non-profit, accredited, special mission sports university created to serve the nation and the world with programmes in instruction, research and service.

The role of the Academy is to prepare men and women for careers in the profession of sports. But it is their recent decision to reward Coventry for her exploits in the swimming pool at the World Short-course Championships that will, without doubt, lift the spirits of the Zimbabwean swimmer ahead of this August’s Olympic Games in Beijing, China.

At the Beijing Games, which are set to run from August 8-24, Coventry will be out to defend her women’s 200m backstroke title, which she won at the last Games in Athens, Greece, in 2004 in a good time of 2 minutes 09.19 seconds.

Her winning time in Athens was also an African record but she has since obliterated it with her world-record breaking feat at the Missouri Grand Prix in February this year which earned her the United States Sports Academy Female Athlete of the Month award for that month.


[ Posted: 22-May-2008 (07:20 hrs)]

was well outside the meet record of 44.29s, which he set when winning the same event in 2004.

It was also outside his personal best time of 44.96s set in Pretoria, South Africa, in 2005. However, Nyongani, a 400-metre specialist, did well to beat one of the United States’ top 400m runners Tyree Washington into sixth place. The American sprinter came last in the race in a disappointing time of 48.88s and was also beaten by another Southern African runner, Isaac Makwala of Botswana, who came second in 46.36s.

The day certainly belonged to Zimbabwe’s sprint star Nyongani whose gold medal-winning performance in this race set tongues wagging in the Senegalese capital. Nyongani, who turns 27 on September 2, was also pleased with his performance which he said puts him in good stead as he prepares for the Olympic Games in Beijing in three months time.

Speaking to The Herald upon his return from Dakar yesterday, Nyongani said he could have run much faster on Saturday had the weather conditions been better. "Although the winning time was slow, I was pleased with my performance because it was my first major international race of the year and I used it as part of my preparations for the Olympic Games." But the most important thing for me was to go there and be able to compete and winning the 400m title for the fifth time in a row and it’s a quite an impressive record.

"I couldn’t run faster because the weather conditions were not favourable. It was windy but doing a sub-46 is a good platform for the Olympic Games," Nyongani said. Nyongani, who is currently on an Olympic Solidarity scholarship aimed for the Beijing Games and is based at the Pretoria High Performance Training Centre in South Africa, said he will run in five more races before heading to Beijing for the Olympic Games.

"I’m going to run in five more races before competing in the Olympic Games. On June 1, I will run in Congo Brazzaville and then definitely I will move to Europe to compete in four more races to fine-tune myself for the Olympic Games." In Beijing, Nyongani will be representing Zimbabwe at the world’s biggest sporting event for the second time in a row after carrying the country’s flag at the last Games in Athens, Greece, in 2004.

In Athens, Nyongani performed well below par as he finished third in his heat and failed to proceed to the next round. But Nyongani, who is now married to Cornilia with the couple blessed with a six-month-old daughter Jaydeen, yesterday promised that "things will be different" in Beijing.

He said he has been working hard under his South African coach Nico van Hardeen at the Pretoria High Performance Training Centre.

"I am under the good guidance of coach Nico van Hardeen and I have the likes of top South African athletes LJ van Zyl and Oscar Pistorius as my training partners."

Van Zyl recently won the 400m hurdles title at the African Championships in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, while double-amputee sprinter Pistorius recently won his case with the Court of Arbitration for Sport to compete at the Beijing Games.


[ Posted: 23-May-2008 (07:20 hrs)]

and his ZOC counterpart Robert Mutsauki at a brief function at the Olympic body’s headquarters in the capital.

The goods included eight sets of soccer uniforms, 10 sets of training bibs and 150 soccer balls. There are also eight sets of volleyball uniforms, 150 volleyball balls, 10 nets while netball received four sets of uniforms and 100 balls. Part of the donated equipment included two hi-fis with cassette and compact disc players, two starter guns, 10 stop watches and 100 T-shirts.

The Sports Commission and ZOC will equally share the equipment, which came through the IOC’s Department of International Co-operation and Development.

Former ZOC president Tommy Sithole currently heads that department. Masenda said the IOC was hopeful that the equipment would be put to good use by the two sports bodies. The IOC, Masenda said, is also keen on playing a positive role in the development of sports and Olympism in Zimbabwe.

All the equipment was purchased locally as the IOC felt it would cost more if the goods were to be brought in from Lausanne, Switzerland, in terms of paying duty and shipping. Speaking after receiving the equipment, Nhemachena said the Commission would distribute the goods to the disadvantaged groups.

"As the SRC we have officers stationed across the country who oversee our programmes.

"Among the programmes we run is the Youth Education Through Sport and I hope some of the equipment will go towards that group. Another priority area that needs the equipment is the sports for people with disabilities.

"So basically we will ask our officers in the regions to identify disciplines and programmes that need help.

"We really need to see the equipment going to the grassroots so that it dovetails into our Sports for All programmes," he said.

Nhemachena said the Sports Commission is also setting up community-based sports clubs and was inviting strategic partners to help them run the programmes.

Mutsauki said ZOC would also take an approach that was similar to that of the Sports Commission and assist underprivileged clubs.

"We are going to distribute our equipment to clubs or structures that are already there so that we complement whatever efforts have been done.

"In this case we would could be working with the Rotary Club, who are already involved in charity work to identify and monitor the distribution of the equipment.

"ZOC wants to avoid a situation where we appear to be imposing the equipment in certain areas where the sports are not being played at all.

"It will mean that the equipment will be stacked to gather dust or we will incur more expenses like preparing the facilities and employing coaches unlike if we just move into existing structures," he said.

Mutsauki said ZOC would continue to source for more equipment to be used at the Zimbabwe Olympic Academy and the Olympic Sports Centre as well as grassroots sports participation.

Sports Reporter (The Herald 6 March 2008)
[ Posted: 07-March-2008 (19:30 hrs)]                                                             [ Back to Top ]

IN their continued efforts to become a more vibrant organisation, the Zimbabwe Olympic Committee have come up with a new business plan which will see them growing from strength to strength this year. The new business plan for 2008, which has already been adopted for implementation by the ZOC Executive Board,

will focus on eight key performance areas which are aimed at taking the organisation to greater heights.he eight key performance areas are corporate governance, financial sustainability, capacity development for national sports associations, Olympism and Olympic Education, athlete development, organisational effectiveness, internal capacity building as well as research and development.

The new business plan, which is the third under the current ZOC strategic plan (2006-2010), was formulated under the guidance of planning facilitator and veteran sports administrator David Mutambara during a three-day planning workshop held in Harare last month.

Robert Mutsauki, the ZOC chief executive, yesterday said that in terms of corporate governance, they will evaluate the perfor- mance of their executive board and establish needs and skills required.

This will see an effective risk management plan being put in place.

"The ZOC structure will be aligned to the current strategic plan and, to this end, a new structure for the secretariat has already been approved by the board," Mutsauki said.

The ZOC secretariat now has 10 full-time staff members.

"The rationale for creating the new structure is to ensure attainment of organisational objectives through efficient and effective delivery for the benefit of the various ZOC stake- holders.

"To ensure focus and effectiveness, all ZOC activities in 2008 will be aligned to the (new) business plan and the board will monitor and evaluate the implementation of the plan by the various ZOC organs."

A mid-term review of the current strategic plan has been set for October where policy gaps, which would have been identified, will be addressed.

Strategic alliances or partnerships will also be forged with appropriate stakeholders "to leverage resources and enhance impact".

"Under financial sustainability, ZOC will establish its financial needs in the short, medium and long-term and develop an effective resource mobilisation strategy and also ensure adherence to financial controls and procedures," Mutsauki said.

The ZOC boss said the capacity development of affiliated national sports associations would address the needs of administrators, coaches and technical officials as well as the critical aspect of volunteer management.

"The athlete development aspects to be addressed include junior development, athlete welfare, anti-doping programme as well as the high performance strategy including preparation for and participation in the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games (in August)," Mutsauki said.

He said organisational effectiveness would zero in on operating systems and procedures, staff motivation including conditions of service and remuneration as well as positive organisational image development.

"Internal capacity building relates to the enhancement of the competencies and skills of board members and full-time staff members. Accordingly, a board and staff development programme will be implemented.

"The research programme will be significant in 2008 as ZOC makes a concerted effort to ensure that all its courses and programmes are based on sound research findings."

Mutsauki said while formulating a business plan might have its challenges, the greater challenge lies in effective implementation of the plan because of the practical hurdles encountered on the ground.

"This is why some very good plans gather dust on the shelves of many offices. I’m confident, however, that with the support and co-operation of all stakeholders, the set objectives for 2008 will be achieved," Mutsauki said.

Story By Collin Matiza (Herald Thursday 14 February 2008)
[ Posted: 07-March-2008 (19:30 hrs)]                                                           [ Back to Top ]

Missouri Grand Prix long course swimming meet in the United States. The 23-year-old Zimbabwean, who is also the reigning Olympic champion in the event, clocked 2 minutes 6,39 seconds to erase the second oldest world record in the books on Saturday.

And ZOC chief executive Robert Mutsauki said yesterday that Coventry’s latest achievement has not only elevated the country to a new level in sport-performance but has also raised "our status to unprecedented levels and guarantees us as a nation global recognition and respectability.

"We owe this newly-found profile to our long-serving sport ambassador who has now firmly put Zimbabwean sport on the world map.It means a lot for Zimbabwe to have an athlete who is considered to be the best in the world.

As far as I know, this is the first world record holder that Zimbabwe has had in its sporting history. This is a tremendous milestone and I can even describe it as an ultimate achievement because a world record means that you are the best in the world in that particular event. Even when an athlete wins a gold medal at a World Championship, it doesn’t necessarily mean that they’ve recorded the best performance in the world and breaking a world record is not an every day occurrence.

This particular accolade was the only thing missing on Kirsty’s list of outstanding performances. She was first an Olympic champion and now she is a world record holder, making her the undisputed all-time queen in the 200m backstroke event".

The ZOC boss also said the fact that Coventry has broken a 16-year-old record shows that the quality of her current performance was at the highest level because many other athletes had tried in vain to break that record over the years.

Mutsauki said Coventry’s world record breaking feat on Saturday has also sent a clear message to the rest of the world that she was ready to defend her Olympic 200m backstroke title in Beijing in six months time.

"It will also be exciting in Beijing when she is introduced at the Games as the reigning Olympic champion and world record holder.

"But from a ZOC point of view, we are happy with the fact that her preparations (for the Olympic Games) are well on course and everything is pointing to better results in Beijing even though the Athens Games results were themselves outstanding."

At the last Olympic Games in Athens, Greece, in 2004, Coventry came out with a full set of medals – one gold, one silver and one bronze.

Mutsauki said they also hope that Coventry’s achievement in Missouri on Saturday will inspire the rest of Team Zimbabwe 2008 members ahead of the Beijing Olympic Games in August.

Meanwhile, Coventry was set to return in the pool late last night where she was competing in the women’s 100m backstroke final at the Missouri Grand Prix.

The Zimbabwean swimming queen reached yesterday’s 100m backstroke final after recording the second fastest time in the preliminaries, which were dominated by American Natalie Coughlin on Sunday.

Coughlin broke the women's 100m backstroke world record in the preliminaries, clocking 59.21sec.

She sliced 23-hundredths of a second off her own world mark of 59.44, set on March 27 of last year in Melbourne, where she added the 2007 world title to the Olympic title she won in Athens.

Coughlin was the first woman to break one minute in the event, first doing so with a time of 59.58 in 2002.

Coventry was second-fastest in the 100m back heats on Sunday by clocking 59.61 and American Hayley McGregory was third-fastest in 1:00.31.

Story By Collin Matiza (Herald Thursday 14 February 2008)

[ Posted: 20-February-2008 (02:30 hrs)]                                                       [ Back to Top ]

The 2008 Olympic Games will be held in Beijing from August 8-24.

And the International Olympic Committee chief Jacques Rogge was in Beijing yesterday where he joined other senior Olympic committee officials and some 10 000 revellers at the one-year countdown celebrations on Beijing’s central Tiananmen Square. The Beijing Olympic organising committee is staging about 40 test events starting from this week to fine-tune preparations for the August 8-24 Games next year.

Among the delegates who attended yesterday’s big event in Beijing was Thabani Gonye, who was last year appointed as the chef de mission of the Zimbabwean team for the Games. Gonye left the country for Beijing on Sunday to attend a three-day chef de mission seminar for the Games. The seminar, which started on Tuesday and ends today, is always held a year before the staging of the Olympic Games.

It is designed to guide and assist the various chef de missions to effectively manage their teams before and during the Games.

The chef de mission will also get briefings from the responsible officials on areas such as accreditation, sports entries, accommodation, including at the Games Village, transportation, training and competition venues as well as the Games opening, closing and victory (or medal) ceremonies. During their stay in Beijing, the chef de mission will also get the opportunity of inspecting training and competition venues and touring the Games Village.

They will also be given the opportunity of watching one or two test events taking place at the newly-constructed facilities as the organisers in Beijing are staging a number of these events to establish the suitability of the new venues ahead of the Games. A chef de mission dossier with guidelines on all these aspects has already been released and will be updated in due course.

Meanwhile, The Zimbabwe Olympic Committee has given Gonye and his management team for next year’s Olympic Games the task of coming up with a training and competition programme of each Zimbabwean athlete earmarked for the Games.

"This will ensure consistency and improved performance while at the same time ensuring the avoidance of injuries, fatigue and even burnout as a result of participating in too many competitions prior to the Games.

"The training and competition programme of each athlete should be such that they peak at the Olympic Games and not earlier or later," the ZOC chief executive, Robert Mutsauki, said earlier this week.

He also said that ZOC was putting in place logistical and support mechanism related to travel arrangements and providing kit and uniforms for the team, among others.

And Mutsauki also announced that tickets for next year’s Olympic Games for Zimbabweans who wish to travel to China to watch the Games are now on sale through their agency — Fly-Afrika.

He said more information could be obtained through the ZOC website or their offices in Harare.

By Collin Matiza
Courtesy of The Herald Tuesday 9 August 2007

[ Posted: 9-August-2007 (07:30 p.m)]

Chindove and Warren will now work together under Admire Masenda who was elected as the organisation’s substantive president in April last year, replacing Paul Chingoka.

Before rising to her new position, Chindove was the chairperson of the ZOC’s Marketing and Public Relations Commission.

A former radio personality, Chindove is not new in sports administration, as she has worked with tennis Zimbabwe before, especially during the country’s flirtation with the Davis Cup World Group in the late 1990s, and at the turn of the new millennium.

By Collin Matiza
Courtesy of The Herald Tuesday 31 July 2007

[ Posted: 6-August-2007 (07:30 p.m)]

And this is already causing some headaches for the ZOC.

Robert Mutsauki, the ZOC chief executive, said earlier this week that they were concerned that Mawisire and Masiyazi were still to attain some "respectable" world rankings that would enable one of them to play doubles with Black at the Beijing Games.

"We wanted Cara to partner one of the girls in the doubles at the Beijing Games but it looks like these girls, who are being groomed for the future, are not yet ready to play at this level of the game.

"In fact, both Fadzai Mawisire and Fadzai Masiyazi played well at the just-ended All-Africa Games in Algeria but they struggled with their game on the clay surface which they are not used to playing on," Mutsauki said.

At the Algiers Games, both Masiyazi and Mawisire failed to go beyond the second round in the singles.

The two United States-based players also played together in the doubles but they were dumped out in the second round.

"Like I said before, we wanted one of the two girls to partner Cara in the doubles in Beijing but they now need to get a recognised ITF world ranking in the doubles in order for one of them to play with Cara at the Games. In fact, we recently received a circular from the ITF indicating that for one to be eligible to be picked to play at the Olympic Games, one must have a recognised world ranking, which is currently not the case with both Mawisire and Masiyazi," Mutsauki said.

Meanwhile, Mutsauki said they were still hopeful that the country’s top clay target shottist Mike Nicholson would get a special invitation from the International Olympic Committee to compete at next year’s Olympic Games in Beijing.

Nicholson won a bronze medal at the just-ended All-Africa Games in Algeria but failed to attain the required scores for automatic qualification for the Beijing Games.

And Mutsauki said the shottist could still go to Beijing, courtesy of a Tripartite Commission Invitation from the IOC.

"Mike Nicholson did improve on his points score at the Algiers Games as compared to those that he registered when he came second at the African Shooting Championships in Cairo, Egypt, in March.

"But (his scores in Algiers) will still help his cause for him to receive a Tripartite Commission Invitation from the IOC that would enable him to compete at the Beijing Olympics.

"He is improving on his minimum qualifying scores for the Games," Mutsauki said.

The IOC extends the Tripartite Commission Invitation to those athletes who would not have achieved automatic qualification standards for the Games in their different disciplines.

There are 24 Tripartite Commission Invitation places for next year’s Beijing Games and the idea is to get all 203 National Olympic Committees that are recognised by the IOC to participate in the Olympic Games so that the Games will be seen as a truly universal event.

The 2008 Olympic Games will run from August 8-24 in Beijing.

By Collin Matiza
Courtesy of The Herald Tuesday 2 August 2007

[ Posted: 6-August-2007 (07:30 p.m)]

such as Olympic Education, Olympism, Doping control, Sports Marketing and Sport and the Media. Presentations were also made on ZOC new strategies as well as development programmes and activities. While the Forum was a resounding success, ZOC bemoaned the poor attendance by the affiliated National Associations. It was discouraging to note that out of the expected thirty affiliated national Associations, only ten sent delegates to attend, a situation that is as discouraging as it is regrettable. Only Baseball and Softball, Bowls, Boxing, Equestrian, Handball, Hockey, Judo, Rowing, Volleyball and Wrestling sent in delegates to the forum.

[ Posted: 9-August-2007 (07:30 p.m)]

It is therefore necessary that these facts be made clear for the benefit of the Zimbabwean public. For a deeper insight into ZOC activities and programmes, the public is invited to contact our secretariat by e-mail on zoc@africaonline.co.zw or olympic@ecoweb.co.zw or alternatively phone us on Harare numbers (263) (04)741173 or (263) (04)741177.

STANLEY MUTOYA

[ Posted: 23-July-2007 (07:30 p.m)]

Once again, ZOC was pleased by the commitment and selfless corporate social responsibility by their partner, Dairibord Zimbabwe Private Limited (DZPL), who have been helping in molding the Olympic Day Run in Zimbabwe into a rich success story. With a sponsorship worth $170million for the 2007 edition of the Olympic Day Run, DZPL once again made an indelible mark in the lives of many that thronged High Glen Shopping Centre for this year’s event.

Participants walked away with various tokens ranging from monetary prizes to school fees vouchers, T-shirts and hampers in recognition of their participation in the 20th edition of the Olympic Day Run. A total of 1053 participants took to the road for both the 5km and 10km races. The majority were Primary School children (753), with Secondary school contributing 148 participants, Independent adult residents 89 and Athletics Clubs having 63 participants. The thrust for this year’s event as announced by the IOC President Jacques Rogge, was to celebrate sport as a social movement which can offer all generations, but especially young people, the chance to lead not just a healthier, more balanced life, but a better life with more meaning to it.

The event produced huge surprises particularly in the open category where renowned athletes were given a rude awakening by some of the up-coming athletes. In the open men 10km race, Felix Mushurwa of David Whitehead Club romped home first in a time of 31.31sec with the young Jonathan Chinyoka of Dzivarasekwa High School hard on his heels at 31.34 secs. In third position was Tapiwa Chingadai Independent athlete (32.02sec), Joshua Sabao of Chinhoyi (32.04sec), Rabiso Chigara an independent athlete (32.21sec), Michael Ngaaseke of Turnall (32.30sec), Oliver Kandiero of Lobels (32.36sec), Kingstone Maringe of Airforce (32.37sec), Dzingai Dandare of Lobels (33.06sec) and Courage Kaiyo of Dzivarasekwa 2 High who touched base on 33min.13sec.

In the female category, Muchaneta Gwata, an independent athlete came home first on 38min.23sec followed by Sharon Chinokuya of Lobels on 39.42sec. In third position was Margret Mahohoma an independent athlete on 40.11sec. The rest of the results were as follows; Sausedye Mwenya of Kutama (41.30sec); Melody Nyamaropa of Lobels (42.04sec); Faith Chasi of Mufakose 2; Mavis Rateiwa, Rabia Filima and Ruth Nhemachena all of Lobels with Fungai Chinyoka of the ZRP coming in tenth position.

The Olympic Day Run continues in other Provincial centres where it will be hosted on different dates with the last event expected to be hosted in Centenary District in Mashonaland Central Province on the 21st of July 2007.

[ Posted: 27-June-2007 (06:30 a.m)]                                                           [ Back to Top ]

I would like to thank Dairibord Zimbabwe Private Limited our sponsors, for committing themselves to giving back to the community at a time when most organisations are struggling to keep their heads above the water. We appreciate their support and confidence and look forward to a longer and more fulfilling partnership in future. It gives us pride that through such organisation and strategic partnership with the SRC and responsible corporates like Dairibord Zimbabwe Private Limited, we have been able to reach out to the communities and share with them the ideals and principles of Olympism.

It is important that as we all participate, we be able to reflect on the very core of the event itself. I call on those involved in the organisation to converse themselves with the aim of the event and then be able to share it with others in the various communities.

To all participants and organisers, I congratulate you for choosing to join the rest of the world in celebrating the ideals of Olympism in a Zimbabwean way. Have a successful and enjoyable event."

[ Posted: 26-June-2007 (06:30 a.m)]                                                          [ Back to Top ]

[ Posted: 07-June-2007 (05:00 a.m)]                                                       [ Back to Top ]

[ Posted: 07-June-2007 (05:00 a.m)]                                                  

In the athletics track events, the pair of Lewis Banda and Brian Dzingai attained ‘A’ standards in the 400m and 200m events respectively while Talkmore Nyongani attained a ‘B’ standard in the 400m event. He is now working towards attaining an ‘A’ standard. Two marathon runners, Tabitha Tsatsa (female category) and Mike Fokorani (male category) have already qualified with ‘A’ standards, while the veteran Abel Chimukoko, Michael Ngaaseke, Brighton Chipere, Oliver Kandiero, Philip Bandawe join Potiphar Dombojena who recently won the Johannesburg marathon on the list of male marathon runners who have attained the ‘B’ standard. The 4x400m men’s relay team is also highly tipped to qualify for the 2008 Olympic Games.

In Shooting, Mike Nicholson who achieved the Minimum Qualifying Standard (MQS) after a brave show in Cairo where he won a Silver Medal during the African Shooting Championships, could get a tripartite invitation to grace the Olympic Games for the second consecutive time after having been to Athens in 2004.

Cara Black and Kevin Ullyet both qualify in the tennis doubles event but will need partners. Either of the duo of Fadzai Mawisire and Fadzai Masiyazi could partner Cara for the doubles while Genius Chidzikwe could be Kevin Ullyet’s partner on the court in Beijing. Both Kevin and Cara could still get Wild Cards in the singles events, strengthening Zimbabwe’s cause for increased representation in Beijing.

The category of team sports is also very much in the running with soccer’s Mighty Warriors gearing themselves for a decisive date with Banyana-Banyana of South Africa at the beginning of June. If the Mighty Warriors emerge victorious after the two-legged encounter, they will surely be serious contenders for a maiden trip to the Olympic Games. The Women’s Hockey team is also scheduled to compete in the Olympic Games qualifiers in Nairobi – Kenya in July 2007 and the girls are expected to fight all the way for a place in the Beijing Olympic Games.

The door is still open for athletes to qualify for the Olympic Games and there are indications that some new names might emerge in individual sporting disciplines resulting in the fielding of a bigger and stronger team in Beijing.

QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE

• Minimum of a relevant degree
• Sport related degree will be an added advantage
• Exceptional I.T. competence
• Strong leadership, interpersonal and communication skills
• Demonstrable knowledge of the Olympic Movement and Olympism

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

• Coordinate the Academy Steering Committee
• Plan and implement the Academy activities and programmes
• Liaise with various ZOA stakeholders
• Develop a strong network of volunteers
• Design and implement a ZOA Education Plan
• Create and maintain alliances and partnerships
• Facilitate research and development of appropriate literature
• Represent ZOA during events and functions
• Create a legacy of the Olympic Movement in Zimbabwe
• Incorporate Zimbabwean culture into all ZOA activities and programmes

Candidates who meet the above criteria should submit their written application letters together with detailed CVs not later than 16th April 2007. Applications are to be directed to The ZOC Chief Executive Officer by e-mail at: mutsauki@telco.co.zw copied to mutoyas@ecoweb.co.zw or fax to 04 741173 or 04 741177 or hand deliver to the Zimbabwe Olympic Committee Offices at Number 3 Aintree Circle, Belvedere, Harare.

One of the prospective members of Team Zimbabwe for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, Michael Nicholson did Zimbabwe proud by earning a silver medal in the African Shooting Championships recently held in Cairo Egypt. Mike scored a double when he was crowned the runner up to the Sports Administrator of the Year in the Cascade Annual Sports Awards that were celebrated in his absence as he was firing from all cylinders in the battlefields of the land of the Pharaohs. The affable ZOC Executive Board Member and member of the ZOC Finance Commission as well as Secretary of the Athletes Commission also did well by also achieving the Minimum Qualifying Score (MQS) for the Beijing Olympic Games and brightening his chances of securing a Tripartite Invitation Place for the Games.

[ Posted: 24-March-2007 ]

The new Manager will report to the Chief Executive Officer and will be responsible for the day to day general administration of ZOC as well as resource and project management. He will also assist the CEO to implement the strategic and business plans and will be required to play a leading role in business development. Other specific responsibilities include, servicing stakeholders, organizing events and functions, implementing sports development programmes and mobilizing volunteers.

The ZOC Secretariat has grown steadily from a modest three full-time staff members in 2002 to the current six who are operating from the new Headquarters in Belvedere. The significant involvement of volunteers in ZOC’s various activities has however enabled the Olympic body to contain costs and still meet the high and diverse expectations of its stakeholders.

[ Posted: 2-May-2006 ]

The Zimbabwe Olympic Committee Secretariat has now moved into the new ZOC Headquarters at number 3 Aintree Circle, Belvedere in Harare after spending the last two and a half years at the City Sports Centre. The move unfortunately also entailed a change of ZOC’s contact telephone numbers. The new general telefax numbers are 263 4 741173 or 741177. The two direct lines are 778199 and 740598 and these are assigned to the Secretary General/Chief Executive Officer and the Manager (Operations & Business Development), respectively. All e-mail addresses and the Post Office address remain unchanged.

[ Posted: 14-April-2006 ]

ZOC EXTRAORDINARY GENERAL ASSEMBLY RESOLUTION

The Zimbabwe Olympic Committee (ZOC) Extraordinary General Assembly was duly held on Sunday, 26 March 2006 in Harare. The assembly deliberated at length on the matter of the ZOC President, Mr. Paul Chingoka, who has been on leave of absence since 24 April 2005, and made the following resolution:

• “The General Assembly declares the post of ZOC President vacant with immediate effect and invites nominations (in the usual manner) for the position.
• Mr. Paul Chingoka is eligible for nomination and election.
• Elections for the position of substantive President will take place at the ZOC General Assembly on 16 July 2006.”

Accordingly, the two Vice Presidents, Mr. Brian Warren and Mr. Admire Masenda will continue to act in the post of President on a monthly rotational basis until the General Assembly scheduled for 16 July 2006 in Harare.

[ Posted: 26-Mar-2006 ]