Triathlon Zim hopeful Africa Cup will go ahead

TRIATHLON Zimbabwe are hoping the recent ban on sport will not have much effect on the Bonaqua Africa Triathlon Cup Troutbeck scheduled for next month.

The annual event is one of Africa’s most established and tough international triathlon competitions held at Troutbeck Resort in Nyanga. It attracts international athletes from across the globe.

The Sports Commission announced at the weekend the suspension of all sporting activities in the country subject to review on January 31.

The national association had three events lined up for this month and were all cancelled as they complied with the requirements.

“In light of the recent measures implemented by the Government to curb the escalation of Covid-19 cases and the subsequent directives from the SRC and the Ministry of Sport, the executive board of Triathlon have issued the following resolution:

All activity at the Mount Pleasant pool will cease with immediate effect.

All competitions/events have been cancelled until further notice.

“We understand the frustration that the present scenario is a major set-back to the incredible work that has been done by our team to negate the pandemic’s effect on our operations, however, we are obliged to work with our governing bodies to find a workable solution to resume activities whilst keeping athletes and spectators safe,”said Triathlon Zimbabwe president, Dave Ellis.

However, they are hoping the recent development will not affect the Bonaqua Africa Cup that is scheduled for February. The event run concurrently with the National Championships.

Ellis said they are engaging the relevant authorities so that they can go ahead with the event and preparations are at an advanced stage.

“As an organisation, we will endeavour to find a means to allow training to continue in the meantime so that athletes’ physical conditioning is not compromised in the lead-up to the Troutbeck event at the end of February 2021.

“We are in the process of making (an) application to the relevant authorities to allow this to happen under the strict measures which we had already implemented prior to the latest adaptations to the SI pertaining to sporting activities.

“At the present moment Troutbeck preparations will continue as the process to host the event is already at an advanced stage and obviously we will be guided by the circumstances as they present themselves and will adapt accordingly,” said Ellis.

The prevailing environment may also affect the numbers of participants considering the lockdown measures being applied by different countries as the second wave of Covid-19 infections appears to be on the rise in different countries. Ellis admits it may curtail the numbers but is positive they will still have good attendance.

“Should the event proceed unhindered in February we could be compromised by the number of international athletes attending, however, local attendance will be good.

“Organisers may if necessary have to postpone the event should the need arise and there are a number of other contingencies which are poised to be implemented depending on the situation at the time,” said Ellis.

Triathlon is one of the sport codes that got clearance in time to get their season underway last year and they had made positive progress managing to host their events from September under strict Covid-19 regulations.

They took a break last month for the festive season after successfully hosting one of the major events on their calendar in Penhalonga. They were set to kick-start the second half of the season on January 10.