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Ellina Mhlanga Sports Reporter
ATHLETES from all provinces will have an opportunity to assess their preparedness for the 2014 season when they take part in the National Season Opener Cross Country and the National Athletics Association of Zimbabwe track and field competitions to be held at the National Sports Stadium next week.

The two events are scheduled for January 11 and 12 respectively and the events are catering for cadets, youths and juniors as they begin the 2014 season.

Harare Athletics Board secretary general Silas Muringani, said their focus will be directed towards the juniors and youths since there are a number of major events lined up for this year.

Some of the events include the Africa Youth Games from May 22 to 31 in Botswana, the World Junior Championships in July in the United States, the Youth Olympic Games to be held in Nanjing, China in August and the Zone Six Under-20 Games to be hosted by Zimbabwe in December.

“It is the first competition of the season and is just there to check where our athletes are and what areas need to be worked on.
“We are looking at our juniors and youths because these are the major areas of concern for us. We have the Zone Six Under-20 Games to be held here and we feel we should not disappoint. We want to make sure that we start preparations early.

“We are also looking at short-listing athletes for those competitions. This is also a platform to meet all the coaches and come up with a strategy to help our athletes,” said Muringani.

Last year, Harare hosted the same event and Muringani said they are ready for the competition and most of their athletes have already begun preparations for the upcoming season.

“It has been Harare hosting the season opener. We have three tartan tracks and make it ideal for us to host the event.