08 Apr 2015

Team Lobatse, and amalgam of employees from the ministries of local government and rural development, lands and housing as well as health, are champions of the  inaugural Local Authorities and Health Inter-Sport Association (LAHISA) games which were played in Lobatse recently.

Lobatse became champions after winning several sporting codes that included chess, darts, and men’s volleyball. The team also came second after being beaten by Serowe in the netball final game, and after succumbing to a loss to the Kgatleng team in a pool game.

Team Lobatse also got third position in several sporting codes such as women’s volleyball after being beaten by Team Tutume in table tennis.

In football, the Lobatse team also walked away with bronze medals after winning the losers’ final game, while the Gaborone team beat the Francistown team in the final game by a 2 – 1 margin.

In an interview, Team Lobatse chairperson Gift Botlhale said he was overwhelmed by the results that his team achieved, adding that they owed it to the support they got from the Lobatse leadership.

He said he was also thankful to team members who gave their all during the games and participated fully to end up as the overall champions. He explained that participants know very well that sport plays an important role in their performance at work. He said they took their participation seriously.

Botlhale said they would get back to practice to prepare for the international arena and to make sure that they win the next national games. Closing the games, Kgosi Itumeleng thanked the LAHISA leadership for choosing Lobatse as the place to host the first ever organisations games.

Lobatse, he said, was known for pioneering things such as the first tarred road, the first legislative council, as well as the first High Court, among others. “For the first LAHISA games to be held in Lobatse, and Lobatse becoming the games champions, is history on its own,” he said proudly.

Kgosi Itumeleng encouraged association members to keep up the spirit and make sure they hold the competition every year without fail for effective team building and rapport creation among employees.

He said during the games various work related issues were discussed and amicable solutions reached in a relaxed manner. LAHISA communications manager, Juniet Sechele said he was impressed by the teams’ cooperation and handling of the first games since the association was formed.

Sechele said he was particularly impressed by the Lobatse community’s cooperation as there were no cases of theft or violence that was reported during the games.

He said he was fascinated by the level of play displayed by all teams that participated with spectators at times mistaking the games for serious national league games. The games, he said, also came as an economic boost to businesses as participants had come in large numbers to buy food stuffs and other items of sale.

The LAHISA mandate of creating networks among employees, creating some relaxing time among supervisors and junior employees was met as all employees mingled, conversed and formed friendships during the games, and gained experience from each other, he concluded.

The next LAHISA games will be held next year in Maun while all the teams that participated in the just ended games will also be participating in the international platform of Southern Inter-Municipal Sports Association (SAIMSA), of which LAHISA is an affiliate. 

The SAIMSA games will be held in September in Lesotho. ENDS