NYG technical meeting on

NATIONAL YOUTH GAMES stakeholders will today converge in Harare for a technical meeting to finalise on various issues pertaining to the event set for this month.

The Games to run from August 17 to 27 in Matabeleland North will see participants taking part in athletics, basketball, boxing, chess, cricket, cycling, darts, football, golf, handball, hockey, karate, netball, pool, rowing, rugby, swimming, table tennis, volleyball and weightlifting.

The bulk of the sporting codes will be in Matabeleland North the hosting province while cricket, cycling and hockey will be in Bulawayo due to non-availability of facilities.

Today’s meeting to be held at the Ministry of Sport and Recreation offices will be attended by the Sports Commission, representatives from the ministry and competition directors from the 22 disciplines.

Sports Commission corporate communications officer, Tirivashe Nheweyembwa, said they are going to finalise the rules and regulations as well as issues to do with the facilities and venues to be used during the Games.

“We are meeting the competitions directors tomorrow (today) to clean up on issues of facilities. We will be finalising the issues of rules and regulations and also the competition format as well as to look at the venues,” said Nheweyembwa.

This comes after an inspection tour of the facilities that took place last week in the host province where a Games assembly to receive and consider the rules and regulations for the annual event was held.

Nheweyembwa said the delegation, which included representatives from the Ministry of Sport and Recreation, Sports Commission and national sport associations, noted that some of the facilities needed some sprucing up.

The Minister of State for Matabeleland North Provincial Affairs Cain Mathema pledgrf his support to ensure the Games are a success.

“After the tour it was noted that some venues were not up to standard.

“In the event that the work probably cannot be completed before the Games that particular sport will be taken to Bulawayo.

‘‘But the bulk of the Games have to be in Matabeleland North because they are the hosts,” said Nheweyembwa.

The Games were launched last Friday in Hwange.