Ingwebu Breweries ready for National Tug-of-War Champs

Sport
FIREWORKS are expected when the country’s top teams battle it out in the Ingwebu National Tug-Of-War Championships to be held at Zimbabwe International Trade Fair (ZITF) main arena on Saturday.

FIREWORKS are expected when the country’s top teams battle it out in the Ingwebu National Tug-Of-War Championships to be held at Zimbabwe International Trade Fair (ZITF) main arena on Saturday. Sukoluhle Mthethwa Sports Reporter

An official from Ingwebu Breweries confirmed the event before adding that stiff competition was expected.

Teams that will take part will converge at Gifford High School for the knockout stage with those that would have qualified for the next stage set to meet at ZITF arena in the quarter-finals and the finals.

Ingwebu Breweries marketing officer Ayandiswa Maphosa yesterday told Southern Eye Sport that all was set for this year’s competition.

“We are expecting very tough competition this year because there are many teams that will participate. There will be women’s teams, so we expect it to be very challenging and more exciting. I believe we are ready for the competition,” she said.

“There will be knockouts from 8am to 12pm at Gifford High School. Teams that proceed to the quarter-finals will then compete at the ZITF main arena. We will have the finals from 2pm to 4pm.”

The tournament is sponsored to the tune of $30 000 by the traditional opaque beer brewers. Winners of the competition in the men’s section will walk away with $1 800, runners-up will pocket $1 200 while the two losing semi-finalists will receive $700.

The four losing quarter-finalists will be awarded $5 000 in the competition that will feature 37 men’s teams.

In the women’s category winners will walk away with $400, runners-up $300 while the team on position three will get $200 with the fourth-placed team expected to get $100.

Defending champions Mutare Board and Paper Mills A will seek to defend their title as they will come into the competition seeded together with Delta A, Ingwebu and Grain Marketing Board (GMB) Bindura. The teams have been pooled into four groups and each group will engage in a round-robin in the morning at Gifford High School before the top two teams in each group head to the ZITF for the quarter-finals later in the day.

Group A has Mutare Board and Paper Mills A, FBC A, How Mine C, Zesa Bulawayo C, Silo A, ZPC Munyati A, Zesa Bulawayo B, CBZ A and CBZ B.

Delta A, ZPC Munyati B, Mutare Board and Paper Mills B, ZPC Hwange A, New Zimsteel B, BCC A, New Zimsteel A, Delta C, CBZ C and TelOne make up Group B.

In Group C there is Ingwebu A, How Mine B, Silo B, Delta B, Colliery A, Zesa Bulawayo A, ZPC Hwange B, How Mine A and PPC B. Group D comprises GMB Bindura, Mambo Stars, PPC A, GMB B, Matopo Rotary Club, Chloride Hexide, BCC B, FBC B and Ingwebu B.

In the women’s section there are two pools with Group A having Hwange, Mambo Stars, GMB Bindura and Zesa Gweru while Group B has CBZ, New Zimsteel, Delta, Mutare Board and Paper Mills and How Mine.