The Sunday News
PREPARATIONS for the inaugural Dumiso Khumalo Memorial Tournament are all most complete with the tennis event set to roll into action on Friday.
One of the organisers of the tourney, Tendai Sibanda said registration had started with entries closing on Wednesday, adding that forms have been sent to schools and players from other provinces, who are expected to take part in the juniors’ competition.
The tournament is being held in honour of one of the best tennis talents to emerge from Emakhandeni Tennis Club, the late Khumalo. Khumalo holds the enviable record of being the first Zimbabwean to play at Junior Wimbledon in the United Kingdom.
The tournament is also part of efforts to revive tennis in the western suburbs of the city following a decline in the number of youngsters playing the game.
“We sent entry forms two weeks ago and we expect them back in by Wednesday so that we finalise our preparations. We have confirmations from players in Mutare and Midlands that they will be participating and we are awaiting responses from Harare and Masvingo, whom we had also invited. We expect a field of over 100 players for the three-day tournament,” said Sibanda.
As is the norm in junior tennis there will be no monetary prizes but each participant will receive a t-shirt with the winners getting medals and certificates.
Sibanda said they are awaiting confirmation for the venues as their earmarked venue; the Bulawayo Athletic Club will be undergoing renovations for the Africa Region Five Games to be held in the city in December.
He said contractors are expected to start renovations anytime this week but if they have not moved in by Friday some of the matches would be staged at BAC.
Sibanda said they were looking at using Girls College and Petra School courts in the event that BAC was unavailable, with the finals set for Emakhandeni Tennis courts next Sunday.
However, a mid-term tennis tournament in Harare could see reduced numbers at the event as the former offered national points for participants while those playing at the Dumiso Khumalo Memorial won’t earn any.
Sibanda was, however, optimistic local players will be available for the tournament. “I am sure we are going to get a good field of local players and would only miss other top junior players from Harare and some provinces,” he said.
Sibanda was upbeat about raising the sport’s profile in the high density suburbs through hosting tournaments at Emakhandeni. He is also organising the revival of the Emakhandeni Open which went into oblivion about a decade ago.
Lack of infrastructure has been identified as one of the key reasons many youngsters refrain from playing the game. Emakhandeni Tennis courts have been derelict for several years and received a facelift last year, after resurfacing of the courts by the Zimbabwe National Roads Authority for the Youth Games that were held in Bulawayo.
Several players emerged from Emakhandeni in the early to late 1990s under the tutelage of Aaron Mpofu, who moved to the United Kingdom when the country’s economic woes began to bite.
Players such as Noel Wadawu and Khumalo were produced during the club’s hey days showing there is a pool of untapped talent that lie in the western areas.
