HARARE’S volleyball community, led by the Harare Volleyball and Social Wellness Volleyball teams, is taking a powerful approach to the sport this weekend, using it as a platform to raise breast cancer awareness at the University of Zimbabwe grounds this morning.
The Pinktober Festival: Volleyball with a Purpose tournament, which kicks off today and concludes tomorrow, was organised as part of the worldwide commemoration of October as Cancer Awareness Month.
The campaign aims to bring together teams and communities to support a crucial health cause.
The festival is set to feature 24 teams across two distinct competitions.
Zimbabwe Premier Volleyball League chairperson Clemence Muzondo detailed the unique structure.
“The tournament is divided into two distinct categories: Professional and Social,” Muzondo explained.
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“These groups will play their own separate competitions, effectively making this two tournaments running simultaneously in one location.
“Each category will feature four pools of three teams each.
“The top two teams from each pool will advance to the quarterfinals, followed by the semifinals, a third-place playoff, and the finals.”
While the event will award trophies, medals and giveaways, Muzondo stressed that the main focus remains on education and awareness.
“There will be trophies and medals to be won ... However, the key highlight of the day will be the purpose of the event,” he stated in an exclusive interview.
“This involves educative and informative talks, flyers and banners, screening and even just sharing of life experiences amongst participants, spectators, survivors, and medical experts.”
During the course of the games, the event will host informative talks from a clinical oncologist and cancer survivors, offer free breast cancer screening services and distribute technical and educational material on breast cancer.
Muzondo clarified that the tournament is not a public fundraiser.
“We are not doing any fundraising.
“We have no intention to fundraise as teams are participating free of charge and exhibitors are also not being charged.”
He welcomed support for the cause, however, stating that sponsorship towards the Pinktober tournament is welcomed in the form of cash or kind.
“All that we are getting is sponsorship from our affiliate Social Wellness Volleyball League (SWVL) and many other corporates and individuals. This is going towards the activities of the day to the last dollar. If ever we realise excess funding, it will be definitely channelled towards continuous awareness and to the same event for next year,” he confirmed.
The Volleyball with a Purpose tournament successfully fuses sports with health education, with the first serve scheduled for 8am at the University of Zimbabwe grounds today.
Confirmed participating teams:
Professional League Teams:
Harare City, UZ1, Black Mambas, Chapungu, Ravens, Legends, Filchrist1, BUSE, Redrocks, Riverside, JEWELS, UZ2
Social and Wellness League (Corporate & Social Teams): Econet, Delta, NSSA, CABS, Zimra, ZB, Christianos Regalis, RBZ, NetOne, Cimas, Stanbic, PRAZ