THIS YEAR’S Ingwebu National Tug-Of-War Championships to be held on April 26 at the ZITF showgrounds is sponsored to the tune of $30 000 by the traditional opaque beer brewers.
Fortune Mbele
Sports Reporter
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 each get $700.
The four losing quarter-finalists will take home $5 000. In the women’s section winners will get $400, runners-up $300 while the team on position three will get $200 with the fourth-paced team getting $100.
Mutare Board and Paper Mills A will be looking forward to defending the title as they come into the competition seeded together with Delta A, Ingwebu and Grain Marketing (GMB) Board Bindura in the tournament that will feature 37 teams in the men’s section.
The teams that 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.
Zimbabwe Tug-of-War Federation president Batsirai Frank was ecstatic about the draw which was held at the ZITF yesterday.
“We are excited about Ingwebu supporting the sport. We are so grateful and we are also happy about the teams especially in the women’s section. Most of the teams have improved greatly and we are expecting an exciting competition,” Frank said.