Sports

Mainland volleyball meet set for Morogoro

TOP domestic volleyball outfits are scheduled to return back to action as the Mainland Club Championship takes place in Morogoro from September 22 to 26, this year.

Tanzania Amateur Volleyball Association (TAVA) organizes the tournament, which is held annually, with the aim of effectively promoting the sport in the country, as well as using the event to select players for national teams, which will compete in various regional and continental tournaments.

TAVA Chairman of Regional Development Commission, Alfred Selengia, said all clubs, which wish to participate in the tournament, should confirm participation and register for the event as soon as possible. “I would like to advise that, with the exception of Dar es Salaam, each of the rest of the regions should form strong combined outfits that will battle it out in the event,” said Selengia.

The TAVA official said all teams should confirm participation to the body through its e-mail address before September 15, this year. “For either further information or any other inquiries, the teams should contact TAVA,” he added. He said the tournament’s champions in either category will have the opportunity to represent the country in the Africa Zone 5 Volleyball Club Championship next year. He stopped short of mentioning the country that will host the tournament.

Dar es Salaam’s Magereza men and women clubs are the Mainland volleyball club’s defending champions as they emerged winners of the last year’s event held at the Popatlal Secondary School’s venue in Tanga. Magereza men, led by towering, prolific power hitter, Kelvin Peter, made short work of Morogoro’s Mzinga Club in an exciting final to win the trophy while Magereza women were forced to dig deep and edge bitter rivals, Jeshi Stars also from Dar es Salaam, in a nail-biting final to lay hands on the top honour.

Meanwhile, efforts by members of the Mwanza volleyball fraternity to promote the sport in the region continue to gather pace as the Lake Zone city is expected to host a volleyball bonanza at Ilemela District on August 18, this year. Mwanza Regional Volleyball Association (Mwareva), in cooperation with the Bank of Tanzania (BoT) Mwanza Club, organizes the event, which is expected to attract outfits from all over the region and neighbouring regions.

Mwareva official, Honorati Mayunga, urged clubs from in an outside Mwanza to take part in the bonanza so that the region’s efforts to develop the sport could receive the much needed boost. “We also request the rest of the members of the domestic volleyball fraternity to contribute ideas on the best ways we can use to organize the bonanza,” said Mayunga, whose body also organized the previous bonanzas, held at the Baptist Club and Saint Augustine University of Tanzania (SAUT) Mwanza Club venues.