Zimbabwe Softball Association (Zisa) president Stonard Mapfumo has said the delay by the Zone VI mother body in releasing the calendar for international events has disturbed their preparations for the competitions.
Zisa last month released their local calendar which they said was deliberately designed to develop the spot from the grassroots level. However, on the calendar were international events marked, but without dates.
Zisa said they expect to participate in the annual Zone VI tournament which is set for Namibia in September, the World Cup Championships qualifiers and the Four Nations Championships.
The Four Nations Championships is a regional tournament which will feature Zimbabwe, South Africa, Botswana and Zambia.
But Mapfumo said his association was having problems in preparing for tournaments which have not been specified by date.
“I spoke to Zone VI president Junior Ramovha on the issue, but he said the calendar can only be released after the Zone VI Summit in Namibia,” said Mapfumo.
The summit is set for Windhoek in May. “We don’t know the exact dates and this has put us in a bit of a fix in terms of resource mobilisation.
“The teams are there and ready, but we cannot go out there to look for sponsorship on the tournaments when we are not sure of dates they will be held. We have not been told about the actual date for the summit and for us this is a big challenge. But we are already preparing delegates we are going to send there,” said Mapfumo.
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“The host nation can change the dates if they are hosting another sporting event which they might think it’s more vital to softball.”
The sponsorship package for the Zone VI tournament is expected to be unveiled at the summit. Mapfumo said everything was smooth sailing on the local front.
He said the association successfully held its first workshop on coaching, umpiring and scoring at Roosevelt Girls High two weeks ago.
This Saturday, Chinhoyi High School will host the Mashonaland West season open championships while other tournaments have also been slated for Manicaland and Bulawayo next week.
