02 Jul 2015

Sports development manager-technical at Botswana National Sports Council (BNSC), Bobby Gaseitsiwe has urged Lobatse authorities to rally behind the Botswana Games to afford young and emerging athletes an opportunity to discover their talents and gain exposure.

Giving a brief presentation before Lobatse full council meeting recently, Gaseitsiwe said the Botswana Games was a bi-annual national multi-sport event involving athletes who are 19 years of age and below.

He said the main idea behind the concept was to unearth young talent from all the districts across the country and give them exposure.

He said they targeted school going and out of school youth, adding that the visually impaired were included in the competition as a way of creating positive image of sport throughout the country by increasing popularity and awareness of the games.

Also, he the games strengthens solidarity within the districts, promotes community spirit, peace and excellence in performance.

Above all, he said the games expose the athletes to activities that take place at an international level since they use these games as a selection forum and preparations for international sporting competitions.

He said there were 16 sporting codes during the games.

Therefore, Gaseitsiwe urged the authorities to ensure that athletes have in their possession a birth certificate, a national identity card, passport, proof of residence of athlete and indicate whether the athlete is a boarding school student or out of school.

However, he expressed displeasure in the manner in which most districts were not adhering to accreditation deadlines saying at times, athletes failed to produce all the necessary documents during the games.

In addition, he said more athletes were not participating due to limited budget and resources at district levels and also late preparations of participating teams.

Therefore, he urged Lobatse authorities to support the athletes with tracksuits and any other form of merchandise to uplift the morale of the athletes and to promote their own town.

In their comments, councillor for Maokaneng, Tinny Dinoko raised a concern that Lobatse Town Council has never had the opportunity to host Botswana Games albeit having all the necessary facilities.

However, Gaseitsiwe said since the inception of Botswana Games, the tournament was held in Gaborone, save for this year which will be in Francistown.

He indicated that from Francistown, it is intended that the games will be held in different areas.

He said there were many factors to consider before the bid could be awarded to a particular region, accommodation being given first precedence.

He said the hosting region should also have adequate accommodation that would cater for more than 3 000 people. Ends