Durham University has played host to the Zambian Commonwealth team ahead of the Games taking place in Birmingham this summer.
The athletes were welcomed onto the campus on July 17 and will be staying at Hatfield College for nine nights.
Durham University hosts Zambian Commonwealth team
The team consists of 41 athletes from nine different sports codes, including Athletics, Badminton, Boxing, Cycling, Judo, Rugby Sevens, Para-powerlifting, Squash, and Swimming. The athletes will be training in a variety of venues across Durham during their stay.
The Zambian team were hosted by David Freeman, Durham Country Mayor, for a BBQ at the Durham County rugby Club on the fourth day of the stay. The official Twitter page of Team Zambia wrote that they were ‘excited’ to be staying in Durham and shared pictures of the welcome they were given by the uni.
Durham Uni has a 15-year-long partnership with Sport in Action, an NGO based in Zambia, which is what led to the institution hosting the team.
The purpose of the NGO is to ‘to improve people’s quality of life through sport and recreational activities.’
Zambia at the Commonwealth Games
Zambia first made its debut in 1954 and has competed at every one of the Games since 1972 except the 1986 Games in Edinburgh.
They secured their first gold medal in 1974 when Lotti Mwale won the Men’s Light Middleweight division in boxing. In total, Zambia has won 39 Commonwealth Games medals, nine of which were won in the 1954 and 1958 Games as Northern Rhodesia.
Durham University said: ‘We are delighted to welcome the Zambian Commonwealth Games Team to Durham as they train and live on campus on the run up to the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games.’
The Commonwealth Games will be held between Thursday, July 28 and Monday, August 8, in Birmingham. The Athlete Village is based in The Vale, which is usually home to first-year students at the University of Birmingham during term time. Athletes will begin to arrive at the village on July 22, and will have access to the training venues across the West Midlands.
Birmingham Uni is an Official Partner of the Games and will be hosting the hockey and squash events, as well as providing the official training venue for Swimming and Athletics.