The Sunday News
Mehluli Sibanda, Senior Sports Reporter
INGWEBU Breweries have decided to continue sponsoring the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair Tug of War National Championships whose final takes place at ZITF Main Arena on Saturday.
The continued sponsorship from Ingwebu is despite last year’s fiasco which saw the men’s event being abandoned after a disagreement ahead of the semi-finals. Ingwebu went on to award prizes for women whose section was completed but withheld accolades for the men due to the debacle.
Ingwebu Breweries sales, marketing and corporate affairs manager Nkosana Prince Ndlovu said they never considered pulling out as sponsors of the event which is one of the major attractions on the ZITF Main Arena on the last day of the country’s premier trade showcase. A meeting took place and involved all stakeholders to address last year’s fiasco with clear roles being defined so as to avoid last year’s occurrence.
“The decision to remain as sponsors was always there, we have never considered pulling out as sponsors, we are getting mileage from that sponsorship and it is doing what we require. We had a meeting with the stakeholders last Wednesday, we sat down and reviewed what transpired last year. What we realised is that there were no proper roles which resulted in ineffective communication and they could not take proper decisions. They all agreed that they will have one unitary way of running things. It was agreed that the Zimbabwe Tug of War Federation will be responsible for everything in terms of the running of the tournament, they will appoint the judges.
A draw for all the teams was conducted at ZITF last Friday with 23 men’s teams and nine for women getting into the hat. In terms of prizes, the men’s winners will take home $1 500 plus gold medals, $1 000 accompanied by silver medals will go to the runners up, the team in third place will pocket $700 together with bronze medals while those in fourth place to get $200.
For the women, the winner will walk away with $800 plus gold medals, the runners up $600 which will go together with silver decorations, $400 will go to the team in third place with bronze medals while those in fourth spot will get a reward of $200. On top of the prize money and medals, the teams will also get Ingwebu products as part of accolades.
Ndlovu said their total budget for this year stands at $11 086 which is down from the $15 362 they poured in last year. Despite the drop in the sponsorship, the women’s prize money has been doubled from last year with the men’s accolades reduced.
Ingwebu ZITF Tug of War Championships full draw
Men
Group A: FBC A, Delta A, Ingwebu B, ZPC Munyati B, Mutare City, How Mine A
Group B: Ingwebu A, Delta B, CBZ B, Zesa Bulawayo, Hwange A
Group C: Zesa Bulawayo A, Khami A, Hwange B, ZENT Harare, CBZ A, Chloride,
Group D: Exide, How Mine B, ZPC Munyati A, FBC B, Khami B, BCC
Women
Group A: Ingwebu, BCC B, Tafara , Glow, Zesa Bulawayo
Group B: BCC A, CBZ, Zesa Harare, Mutare
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