TENNIS Zimbabwe (TZ)’s demand for parents to fund their children’s participation at regional and international competitions has irked some parents who have implored the organisation to seek sponsorship.
BY FORTUNE MBELE
This follows an e-mail sent to one of the country’s upcoming tennis stars’ father, Kenneth Kwirirai, early this month advising him to fork out close to $800 for his son Anesu to travel to Namibia for the ITF/CAT Southern Africa Junior Championships to be held from January 8 to 17.
The tournament starts two days before schools open.
An e-mail sent to Kwirirai on December 5 by TZ administrator Cliff Nhokwara reads: “This is to inform you that your son, Anesu, has qualified to represent Zimbabwe at the ITF/CAT Southern Africa Zonal Championships to be held in Windhoek, Namibia, from January 8 to 19, 2017. The estimated total costs for the trip are as follows: Air ticket — $450, coaches’ tickets — $75, coaches’ allowances — $120, total — $645. Tracksuits and playing kits will be an additional $110. Kindly submit your sizes by Wednesday December 7 so that we can order them before the Christmas holiday.”
Kwirirai visited NewsDay offices appealing to well-wishers to help fund the 12 junior tennis stars travelling to Namibia, saying he was struggling to raise the funds for the tournaments.
“It’s an appeal to any other organisation or people who can afford to send these children for this competition,” he said. “They will be representing the country and it is not like I am trying to be averse to TZ, but honestly this is like a national team going out to represent the country and something ought to be done. They (TZ) sent me an e-mail and I responded to Nhokwara by phone and I was told that if I cannot afford, then my son would be replaced by someone who can afford. As parents, we have been asked to fund some of these tournaments from time to time and it is becoming increasingly difficult. Fine, we can sponsor local tournaments, but then if it’s a regional competition, TZ has got to come up with plans,” Kwirirai added.
Nhokwara’s mobile phone was not reachable yesterday.
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Anesu, one of the 12 players who qualified for the tournament, is a 14-year-old Mutare High School student who trains under Mantas Tennis Academy in Mutare and recently won bronze in the New Winners Tournament in Harare. He was a member of the Cosasa
Under-17 boys’ team that won silver in Botswana in August.
