The Sports and Recreation Commission (SRC) yesterday said preparations for the 10th anniversary edition of the Youth Games to be held in Mashonaland West in a months time are well on course.
SRC head of corporate communications Tirivashe Nheweyembwa said they were happy with the work being done by the Games Local Organising Committee (LOC) although there is a lot of work that still needs to be done to make the games extra special.
Mashonaland Central is almost ready to host the Games but a lot of work needs to be done especially at Bradley High School where handball will be played. Also at Bindura Primary School there is need to move with speed.
There is some hope though that they will finish the tennis courts in time because Ashanti Gold company offered to renovate them at a cost of $46 000. Also at Chipadze High School they are almost through with the athletics tracks. A local company has offered to assist with a grader and a roller compact so that the track is properly put in place, said Nheweyembwa.
The SRC last week held a fundraising dinner in the capital to raise funds for the games which had been initially threatened by lack of funding. Nheweyembwa said $400 000 in cash was raised at the dinner, in addition to pledges in kind against a target of $2 million.
Mbada Diamonds Holdings pledged the highest amount of $50 000 while Minister of Transport, Communications and Infrastructure Development Nicholas Goche pledged 11 beasts, five tonnes of maize and $5 000
On the overall I would say the preparations are going on well but there is need for the local organising committee to sustain the momentum and to ensure that all the pledges are followed through before the Games to avoid a last-minute rush. We are grateful for the support that we got from the corporates. We hope this will continue in the future, added Nheweyembwa.
The SRC will today visit the venues to monitor the progress by the LOC.
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We are going to Bindura for a technical support meeting aimed at monitoring the Local Organising Committee so they can refocus their plans ahead of the games. The idea is to ensure that we make sure all the needs of the games are given adequate attention, particularly areas like accreditation, catering, edutainment and transport. We would like to ensure that all the things are in place before the games start, said Nheweyembwa.
