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Sports Reporter
IT’S that time of the year again when sports administrators get a chance to meet and brainstorm on some of the challenges afflicting their various disciplines.

The third edition of the Sports Management winter camp has been set for Masvingo from July 22-24 with guests from Kenya, Tanzania, Zambia and Nigeria expected to deliver papers.

Russell Mhiribidi, president of the Sport Leaders Institute of Zimbabwe who are organising the winter camp, said yesterday they were expecting yet another overwhelming turn out from representatives of sporting associations, schools and tertiary institutions after more than 260 participants converged at the summer camp in Kariba last year.

Mhiribidi is also hopeful that with registration having opened, some of the country’s athletes who are reaching the twilight of their careers will find time to take part and get an understanding of the career pathways that are available for them on the administrative side of sport.

The bulk of local athletes prefer to go into coaching, but there have been calls to involve or integrate more former players into the administrative wings of associations.

It is through such platforms like the SLIZ Winter camp that participants can also share experiences.

“There is always something to learn from the experiences that are shared at these camps for instance this time around we will get to learn from Kenya athletics’ success story when it is shared,’’ Mhiribidi said.

Mhiribidi also urged participants to register early to avoid last minute hassles that are associated with late registration.

“The three-day workshop is a platform where administrators can brainstorm and come up with solutions to the challenges being faced across the board. Registration fee to participate at the Winter Camp is $365 for SLIZ members with non-members paying $450,’’ Mhiribidi said.

Mhiribidi also said it was important for sports leaders to understand that turning around the fortunes of national sport would not be an overnight event, but a process that also involved various stakeholders.

The SLIZ is a body whose mission is to facilitate and provide a conducive environment for optimum growth and advancement of the nation’s sports leaders with emphasis on capacity building and professional development in line with the existing global trends.

“Last year we had 70 participants at the Winter Camp held in Matopo and this time around we expect double the number because of the overwhelming response we got at the Summer Camp held in Kariba. We had 265 people coming for the Kariba workshop with most paying their registration on the day of the camp which made things a little bit difficult.

“To avoid last-minute challenges, we urge those interested to get in touch with us through our website and register on time,” said Mhiribidi.

Mhiribidi is also happy to note that the idea of management camps for administrators was being warmly received in the country.

The SLIZ president said that although the winter management camp was a unique event for sports leaders in the country and the Southern African region, it was a regular occurrence in Europe and it offered the administrators a chance to discuss problems affecting them. Other professionals such as lawyers and chartered accountants hold similar workshops.

SLIZ, viewed as a potential game changer in regional sports administration having been endorsed by the Supreme Council for Sport in Africa, the Africa Union Sports Council Region 5, also invite local speakers and former Dynamos left back Stanley Chirambadare is one such guest who is expected to discuss school-based development programme for football.

Devota Marwa from Tanzania’s University of Dar es Salaam will present a paper on sports marketing with Musunza Sombwa from the Olympic Youth Development Centre in Zambia speaking on podium athlete development (PAD).