The ManicaPost
Fungayi Munyoro Sports Correspondent
ZIMBABWE Olympic Committee (ZOC) conducted a two-day workshop at Mutare Girls High School as a way of creating awareness about anti doping. These included the awareness with regards to prohibited substances and methods, the dangers and consequences associated with their use and anti doping control procedures and risks. A total of 33 participants attended from schools in and around Mutare, Sports and Recreation, Ministry of Education and some from various sporting disciplines.
The workshop was conducted by ZOC board member Steve Mudawarima who is a trained anti doping officer certified by World Anti Doping Agency (WADA). Mudawarima defined doping as when an athlete takes illegal substances to improve his or her performances. He said that the trained participants are expected to impart the knowledge gained to others.
“This was our first time to conduct the workshop in Mutare. We had a positive response and the turnout was good. We did not have participants who dropped off but the same participants we started with were the same participants we finished with. It is expected that workshop participants, once empowered, will organize education sessions to impact their respective stakeholders in schools, clubs, communities, districts and provinces. We will be monitoring each province. We are giving out DVDs, tool kits which will assist them with all the information required. We will also send these people for further training,” he said.
The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) was established in 1999 as an international independent agency composed and funded equally by the sport movement and governments of the world. Zimbabwe Olympic Committee (ZOC) formally accepted the World Anti-Doping Code on the 26th of February 2004.
