19 Apr 2016

The 2016 Botswana Primary School Sports Association (BOPSSA) athletic competitions have turned out to be a return to glory for the North West region which comfortably sits at position one on the medal table.The region has staged a comeback after it took position six at the 2014 BOPSSA athletics competition in Maun. With an overall tally of 34 medals, the region has scooped 16 gold, eight silver and 10 bronze medals to outshine their competitors.

The South region has also made a mark in the competitions scooping position two with 10 gold, seven silver and 12 bronze medals to pocket 23 medals in total. The 2014 BOPSSA champions, Central region, are now at position three with 23 medals, eight gold, nine silver and six bronze.

At position four is North East with 18 medals while the South East region stands at fifth position with 17 medals. Ghanzi and Kweneng are at position six and seven with 11 and 10 medals respectively. Kgalagadi, Kgatleng and Chobe regions trail behind with seven, four and one medal respectively.

BOPSSA vice president technical, Selebatso Keabetswe said the competitions went well even though last year the competitions were not held because of monetary constraints. He also noted that this year the level of competition was high among regions with some regions producing surprises. 

In particular, he cited the South region which has outdid itself this year by producing the fastest boy, 13-year-old Letsile Tebogo from Mophane Primary School.North West region coach, Uarangera Naiho attributed their performance to the fact that they had prepared their pupils psychologically for the competitions, something that has worked to their advantage.

He also said the region underperformed at the last competitions because they had lost one of the competitors and as a result some of their zones did not participate at zonal competitions.

Nonetheless, the region continues to unearth gems that the country could look up to. END