MARONDERA- There is need for all stakeholders that include administrators,
coaches, trainers, athletes and fans, among others, to ensure an inclusive, safe and
clean sport environment if the country is to record major successes in all sports
codes.
The Sport and Recreation Commission (SRC)’s recreation and provincial
coordination manager Shepherd Mukanhairi made the passionate plea at a recent
clean shop held in Marondera recently.
Topics covered at the two-day workshop included anti-doping rule violations, the role
of athlete support personnel, safe and inclusive sport and scanning of the sport
operating environment, among others.
It emerged that it is every athlete’s right to perform in sport which is clean mainly
from doping which has tainted the images of some Zimbabwean athletes.
Over the years, a number of local athletes have been banned from performing in
some sport codes after being caught using banned substances to enhance their
performances.
Devon Chafa, the former Dynamos and Warriors midfield enforcer was banned for
six months in 2013 while long distance runner Munyaradzi Jani was in July 2022
given a two-year ban from participating in sport.
In January last year, popular cricketer Brendan Taylor was banned for three and half
years and the another athlete who was banned for using banned substances is
former tennis ace Velaria Bhunu.
However, Mukanhairi noted that apart from doping, sport in country has been marred
by other aspects of negativity that, in the end, hampers sport development.
To that end, he said, there is need for a raft of measures to be put in place to provide
mechanisms for sport practitioners and stakeholders to mitigate all unsafe practices.
“We must create an environment that exposes potential abuses and detect them
from victimizing participants. The conduct of athletes, coaches, officials, volunteers
must be regulated. Sport providers have a legal duty to protect the welfare of
athletes and ensure that they are not exposed to risk in any form.
“This is best achieved through continually updating knowledge and skills for
providing a safe and healthy environment,” he said.
Mukanhairi stated that there is need for the adoption of policies and procedures that
are designed to attain a safe and fun environment for all national associations and
club policies on inclusive and inclusive sport.

He said: “Put in place guidelines that athletes, coaches and administrators are
expected to comply with, thereby preventing abuses. There have to be codes of
conduct for sport practitioners including a provision for disciplinary action for any
perpetrators.
“Safety concerns for which training, policies and procedures should be in place
include misconduct, facilities and equipment, medical conditions, infectious diseases,
drugs, dealing with emergencies as well as the conduct of training and competition to
prevent injury, illness, negative psychological effects and burnout.”