The Sunday News
Fungai Muderere, Senior Sports Reporter
WITH the Bulawayo Pool Association (BPA) Premier and Division One leagues on ice awaiting the start of the new season in March, pool lovers from the City of Kings and Queens have found new homes.
With a number of people coming from a merry mood, pool players have decided to spice up their spirits by resorting to playing social and money games at different joints that include the newly opened Golden Pillars, Queens Pool Academy and Palace Hotel. The sporting mood has also been noticed in high density suburbs that include Mpopoma, Cowdray Park, Nkulumane Tshabalala, Sizinda, Nketa, Magwegwe, Luveve and Gwabalanda just to mention a few.
“It has been good to see pool lovers and players spice up their moods in such a special way. This follows what I can term a taxing BPA Premier and Division Leagues season. People should continue to have fun while they are also sharpening their pool skills. Pool is a growing sport and it’s good to notice a number of people are embracing it,” said BPA publicity secretary Osbornewells Dziko who doubles up as Golden Pillars proprietor.
Dziko’s sentiments were echoed by Queens Pool Academy vice-president Archie Scholtz.
“It’s good to see people enjoying themselves. We should not kill the spirit by engaging in some unbecoming behaviour. We should enjoy sports, through pool that seems to have won the hearts of many. At our place, we have observed people play matches till late at night, which is good socialising and for the development of the game in the country,” said Scholtz.
Last year, 64 players took part in a two-day Queens Blackball International pool tournament that was played at Bulawayo’s Queens Sports Club. The inaugural contest was hosted by Queens Pool Academy and 34 Zimbabwean players, seven from Uganda, 14 and five that hailed from Zambia and Botswana respectively took to the tables in a fight for the top accolade.
As if that was not enough, four South African players also took part in the competition whose registration fee was pegged at US$50 per player. The Zambian contingent boasted of the services of their celebrated captain, Victor Zinyiza. They also came to the event with their tails up following their five-star performance at the recent Blackball Pool World Cup finals that were played in Morocco. Zambia finished their campaign as the first-runners after falling to England in the final match.
During the course of last year, Queens Pool Academy played host to Zimbabwe Women Pool Association competition, National Elite Players Association of Zimbabwe (NEPAZ), MAYEZ, Bulawayo Under-21 and BPA Cup tournaments among others.
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Meanwhile, the newly introduced Bulawayo Blackball Weekly tournament will today enter into round three with matches set to be played at Queens Sports Club. Last weekend on Sunday, with an award of a new pool table set to be won in the month of June, unheralded Stanley “Mjuda” Ngwenya conquered all and sundry at Golden Pillars to be crowned champion of the ongoing tournament. The weekly contest is being conducted every Sunday at different venues around Bulawayo. In the first edition, Andile Ndlovu, who last season did duty for Queens Pool Academy, came out to earn five points in the continuing race.
— Follow on Twitter @FungaiMuderere
