Fungai Muderere
THE Zimbabwe Pool Association (Zipa) has written to the Sport and Recreation Commission (SRC) seeking to convince the country’s sports governing body that pool is a low risk sport code that should be allowed to resume under the country’s revised coronavirus lockdown regulations.
Sporting activity has been prohibited in the country since the end of March because of measures in place to stop the spread of Covid-19.
In mid-May President Mnangagwa stated that only sports seen as less likely to result in any harm to those taking part would be allowed to resume.
According to the Ministry of Youth, Sport, Arts and Recreation, low risk sports are the ones where there is no contact, where physical distancing is possible and there will be less risk if physical distancing is practised by athletes and coaches.
Initial consultations between the Ministry of Youth, Sport, Arts and Recreation, the SRC, Zimbabwe National Paralympic Committee, Zimbabwe Olympic Committee and national sports associations, saw pool together with archery, swimming, athletics, rowing, equestrian, fencing, golf, polo, motorsport/ BMX, shooting, tennis, chess, darts, drafts, goal ball (visually impaired), cricket and table tennis, being classified low risk sports that could resume during the Level Two lockdown.
However, when the Statutory Instrument came out, it was silent on pool being a low risk sport which prompted Zipa officials to write to SRC in a bid to convince the latter otherwise.
“At first, we got communique that pool had been classified as one of the low risk sport codes. However, when the Statutory Instrument came out there was nothing to that effect. As a result, we have written to SRC, seeking to convince them that pool is indeed a low risk sport,” said Zipa president Godknows Maravanyika.
He added: “We are prepared to make presentations on that and we have put in place various systems that we think will help us to avoid the spread of coronavirus.”
Key considerations for resumption of activities include health checks for athletes, physical distancing among participants, disinfection and cleaning of facilities, discouraging sharing of equipment, daily Covid-19 symptoms checks, availability of masks, sanitisers for athletes and officials and practising strict hygiene like washing of hands, among other regulations that guard against the spread of the coronavirus.
Among the high-risk codes are popular contact sporting disciplines like football, rugby, basketball, volleyball, boxing, netball, wrestling, field hockey, waterpolo, taekwondo and handball.
Medium-risk disciplines include baseball, softball, gymnastics, weightlifting, bowling and badminton and they can resume activity if they meet set guidelines.
Football clubs have started to feel the pinch of the extended delay in the opening of the season with some struggling to continue paying idle players.
