By Joyce Mukucha
The Harare City Volleyball Club (HCVC) women’s team will be leaving the country to Egypt to represent Southern Africa in the Continental Championship to be held at E1 Sports Complex in Cairo, Egypt from the 4th to 15th of March 2018.
They were seen off by Councillor Panganayi Charumbira, the Chairperson of the Information and Publicity Committee of Harare City Council.
The team participated in a number of tournaments and league games and this led to strengthening of its performance.
Addressing the team during the send-off meeting on the 23rd of February 2018 in Harare, Cllr Charumbira wished them success in the forthcoming continental safari and urged the women’s team to put Zimbabwe on the world map.
“As you are heading to Egypt, I encourage you to represent our country well. I have no doubt that you will raise the flag of Harare City and the national flag high because you are a force to reckon with. I trust the executive, technical team and the players on this important national duty assignment.
“I’m convinced that Harare City Volleyball Club is going strong. You have survived the past so successfully and will also master the future because of accepting and more adapting to changes. HCVC and all its members have these notable achievements. We also pay tribute to all those who kept “Boys and Girls DzeTonaz” and contributed to the development of sport in Zimbabwe,” said Cllr Charumbira.
He added that the modern society was characterised by increasing competition. As a result, he urged the club to counterbalance these modern trends by promoting team work, companionship and unity. Charumbira said the Harare City Club believes in unity.
The HCVC women’s team won the Zone 6 African Volleyball Club Championships which was held in Bulawayo from the 7th to 17th of December 2017.
It also came the first in their category of the Zone IV African Regional Tournament as runner ups and came out as champions on the Zimbabwe Volleyball League.
Mandlenkosi Ndlovu, the chairperson of Harare Volleyball Association said he was proud of the women’s volleyball club. He urged them to use the opportunity wisely.
Tawanda Sithole of the Zimbabwe Volleyball Association expressed his excitement towards the team’s success. Sithole encouraged the team to go to Egypt to perform their greatest so that other countries can see the improvement of volleyball in Zimbabwe.
One of the players Naslin Negomo said the team was expecting to make it big in Egypt.
“From the 21 clubs from different regions which include Southern and Northern regions that are going to participate in the Continental Championship. We hope that we are going to win and represent our country well as we have been urged by Cllr Charumbira. We have been training more on the different parts mostly the attacking and defensive parties so that we will be able to challenge the tall people we usually play against. As a team we are happy that we are succeeding in as far as volleyball is concerned in Zimbabwe,” she said.
HCVC is the newest and strongest club in the volleyball fraternity in Zimbabwe. It was established in 2016 and then adopted by the Council on 11 October of that year. The aim was to transform Volleyball into a discipline of choice as well as making it attractive and take it to the highest level.