By RONALD CHAWE –
BADMINTON Zambia (BZ) has set aside K50,000 to train over 75 umpires ahead of hosting the International Badminton Championship.
Zambia was awarded the rights to host the 2016 championship by the Badminton Confederation of Africa (BCA) slated for November 24-27 at the Olympic Youth Development Centre (OYDC) in Lusaka.
BZ general secretary Kingsley Mulenga said in an interview yesterday that the umpires training course would signal the country’s readiness and early preparation for the championship.
Mulenga said the umpires to be trained would be drawn from public and private institutions and would be examined as per BCA requirements at the end of the training.
He said successful candidates after writing examinations stand a better chance to be recognised by both the BCA and the Badminton World Federation (BWF).
“We intend to train over 75 umpires in the next session when the schools reopen, these will help us during the international championship that we will be hosting later in November. Those who are going to make it during the exams stand a better chance to be recognised by the world mother body and may be called to officiate at an international level,” he said
Meanwhile, BZ has picked Mark Banda as its representative at the BWF ‘shuttle time’ evaluation meeting to be held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia from April 1-3.
The meeting will evaluate the implementation of ‘shuttle time’, which is a children’s programme aimed at helping teachers and coaches in developing skills and knowledge about school going children.