Zimpapers Sports Hub NATIONAL Athletics Association of Zimbabwe president Tendayi Tagara is hopeful of an exciting event as the country braces to host the CAA Southern Region Senior Athletics Championships later this month. The meet is scheduled for the University of Zimbabwe grounds on July 26 and 27. Tagara has been impressed with the response from their regional counterparts with 10 countries set to join the hosts for the event. Angola, Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mozambique, Mauritius, Namibia and Zambia have confirmed their participation. “The National Athletics Association of Zimbabwe is happy to announce that the preparations for the 26th and 27th July event, where we are hosting 10 countries of the region are progressing well. “Technically we are preparing and the local organising committee is running around to ensure we host a successful event. “We are happy with the response from the regional countries. “That response that they will be coming to participate is very encouraging. We are happy that the support is coming on well,” said Tagara. The Southern Region Senior Championships form part of the Confederation of African Athletics (CAA) zonal competition circuit, established to foster elite performance and regional integration. Over the past two decades, countries like Botswana, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Angola and Zambia have used the Championships to sharpen their athletes for major competitions such as the World Championships and the Olympics. As the preparations for the regional competition progress, NAAZ competition director Manuel Mpofu has unveiled the programme for the two-day meet. Competition is expected to take off midday, on July 26, with simultaneous finals that include women’s discus, men’s shot put, and long jump before the track events also get underway. Day two’s programme starts off in the morning and competition is expected to run until just after midday. Mpofu expressed confidence in Zimbabwe’s readiness to stage the event. “The programme reflects not only competitive excellence but also our commitment to delivering a world-class event. “These two days will showcase Southern Africa’s finest talent and inspire the next generation,” said Mpofu. Zimbabwe is set to field 60 athletes at the regional meet consisting of senior and upcoming athletes. For the upcoming athletes it is an opportunity for exposure and gaining experience as they face some of the region’s top athletes. Tagara said while they have made progress in their preparations, they are still appealing for more support to ensure they host a successful event. “We wish to appeal to the business community to support us to feed our visitors, to feed our team. “We are looking for support to look after Zimbabwe team. When we are hosting, we must also remember that we have our own team besides the visitors. “And we are also looking for support in cash and kind to make sure they have at least some days in camp in preparation for the event,” added Tagara. NAAZ are also preparing for the CAA Combined Under-18/Under-20 Championships running from July 16 to July 20 in Nigeria. Some of the youth athletes who are part of the team for the continental championships, are currently in Namibia for the African Union Sports Council Region 5 Youth Games. They had a good start on Monday, with a clean sweep in the women’s 5 000m as Tulange Mudenda picked gold while Ratidzo Mutepfe and Thelma Murando settled for silver and bronze respectively. Prosper Zimbango got silver in men’s discus. Several of the athletes are in the running for medals after making finals in a number of events, including the 800m, 400m and 100m. Special Olympics athlete Makanaka Kaiyo also had a good day in the office, writing her own piece of history when winning a gold medal in the girls long jump on Monday.