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Takudzwa Chitsiga

Sports Reporter

IN a bid to conform with the 2022 revised International Federation of Bodybuilding judges manual, the National Federation of Zimbabwe Bodybuilding and Fitness will tomorrow and Sunday conduct a judges’ training programme in Harare.

The training will be conducted by veteran international judge Ellmari Wroe and Gordon Wroe, a seasoned statistician.

The NFZBBF Board has resolved that every judge who is interested in officiating at the Nationals must be exposed to the new rules.

More than 20 participants, including the Zambian bodybuilding chief and a Rwandese official, will take part in this training programme. 

“Our position is very clear as NFZBBF regarding commitment and seriousness by judges,” emphasised the NFZBBF president, Kenneth Murugweni. “It’s either you are committed or not. Athletes train hard, go on diet, spend a lot of money. I think it is extremely unfair for athletes to be assessed by a judge who does not see it necessary to get exposure of a revised manual.”

The Development Secretary in the NFZBBF, Keith Chirimanzi, added: ‘’No training, no judging at the Nationals, Marume Classic and Harare Classic. 

“We need to maintain standards. Training will run over two days and participants will have an examination on the second day. This will allow participants who have never judged before to go for practical assessments. We expect to create critical mass in the judge’s department.” Quiet Shangai, the federation’s secretary-general, concurred and emphasised on commitment. 

“Judging is the key component of a competition hence referred to as the competition area. Everything else is administrative and may not be a reflective of a show performance. Furthermore, if judges don’t perform, we lose athletes, sponsors and audience. We can’t be seen not showing commitment in that area,” said Shangai.