Harare Athletics Board Award Ceremony Celebrates Local Talent

By Ilyana Sithole

The atmosphere at David Livingstone School was electric yesterday as the Harare Athletics Board hosted its much-anticipated award ceremony celebrating the outstanding feats by local athletes. The event, presided over by Tendai Tagara, President of the National Athletics Association of Zimbabwe, paid tribute to the commitment and hard work that athletes, coaches, and officials put in throughout the year.

In his keynote address, Tagara thanked the HAB chairperson, Ms. Cousinet Simunyu, for organizing the event and acknowledged the challenges the association had gone through but embracing the spirit of unity and support. “Ladies and gentlemen, first I want to thank the Harare board chairperson for organizing this evening,” said Tagara. He said, “My punishment is that I will pay for the transport for all the juniors and seniors, all the nominees for next year’s awards.” He even offered the Paralympics board office space so that they can continue working together closely.

The awards this year had varied categories to ensure the commitment is recognized not only from the athletes themselves but also the coaches as well as organizations to support them. Leaving no-one and no category behind, Simunyu, popularly referred to as “Mai Harare,” welcomed the guests and celebrated their successes. “It’s not only a good vision of talent and hard work, but a testimony to the dedication, perseverance, and passion that has been put by each of you into pursuing excellence,” she said.

Another highlight of the evening was the awards for outstanding performances in the different categories. Winner of the parasport women category, Stella Jongwe, could hardly contain her excitement as she went to receive the award: “I am so excited today. Honestly speaking, I feel so humbled and honored. To receive an award is something meaningful to an athlete.”

Brenda Njodzi, an eighteen-year-old who was the winner of the junior women’s category, was overexcited and praised the board for this recognition. In his remarks, Tendai Zimuto, the senior men’s winner, said that it was always an honor competing among the cream of the athletic cream in Harare and underlined the big role the board plays in making sure that new athletes are developed.

Other individual award winners in different categories include:
* Ellina Mhlanga – Media Category
* Harare Athletics Club – Partners Category:
* Mavhuto Tumba – Coaches Category
* Harare Province – Team Category
* Wellington Zingwe – Junior Men Category
* Munyaradzi Katiyo – Parasport Men Category
* Ethel Pangiso – Senior Women Category

The ceremony was indeed a show of individual and team feats, but most importantly, it was to cultivate in athletes and stakeholders the spirit of community and cooperation. As the night drew to a close, the talk was of the future: nurturing the talent and creating a legacy for the next generation of Zimbabwean athletes.