12 Jun 2016

Some women volleyball coaches believe that the ladies games need be promoted and marketed to the level of their male counterparts.

Lack of support for women volleyball games were evident on Saturday, when during the games noise of players celebrating a point and the bounce of a ball were audible enough, even for a passerby outside the Serowe College of Education (SCE) Sports Gallery when various teams competed in the Mascom Volleyball League.

The disturbing phenomenon went on until a handful of SCE students could, albeit in vain avert the echoes and reverberations of the ladies and balls. Unlike at tennis where spectators switch to mute whenever play is in progress until a memento brilliante or a gain in point, the ladies games were in devoid of cheers and chants to neutralise the shouts from the ladies. Such was sign of poor attendance at the ladies’ games at SCE, factors of which have been enumerated by coaches.

“It’s a common although disturbing trend in sports where men would enjoy huge following and support at the expense of their female counterparts,” said Kalavango coach Isaac Thengelani.

In some sporting codes worldwide like football, tennis and boxing inter alia women get lower remunerations, at times half the value of their male counterparts. The trend even extends to the support of the code itself.

The Kalavango gaffer opined that of some factors leading to poor attendance at the games is the fact that men volleyball games are explosive and intense, with players flexing their muscles to outwit opponents.
This is in stark contrast to ladies whose games were characterised by gentle and slow play that, in many instances do not entice spectators.

Not only that, the Kalavango coach is adamant that some venues exclude spectators from thronging volleyball courts in large numbers. He cited SCE Sports gallery as one of those venues as most of spectators were students, who upon school holidays would rarely pitch for games.

Notwithstanding that, Thengelani believes there were some ladies clubs that attracted big crowds, citing the long standing rivalry between Kutlwano and Mafolofolo.

His counterpart from Selibe Phikwe Voleyball Club Makgetla Gareanna is of the view that crème de la crème of Botswana volleyball has crowded in fewer teams and therefore rendering other clashes uninteresting to some volleyball followers. He bore that the top three teams like Mafolofolo, Kutlwano and propbably BDF VI had assembled stars and hence were crowd pullers.

Makgetla who coached women national volleyball team for three years has observed that apart from the three top teams other teams were equal in strength save for his rookies SVC.
Makgetla opined that for volleyball to grow to the level of other top codes locally, all stakeholders needed to assume their roles in earnest.

And as amelioration to women volleyball receiving publicity that would in turn make them marketable, SVC coach called for a position of skilled public relations officer who could advertise and market women volleyball games.
Meanwhile, in the first game blunt, inexperienced and equally timid SVC received a rude welcome to the top flight volleyball game at the hands of Kalavango who thumped them 3-0.

The ladies from the copper and nickel mining town got another drubbing at the hands of merciless Gaborone based Dynamites although they literally came in smaller packages. Dynamites, boasting exuberant and taller teenagers ripped off Mahalapye based Mag Stimela who looked resigned to a walkover status by 3-0.

Though Mag Stimela setter Oteng Mochiba played with sheer brilliance to shrug of the walkover tag, it appeared the tag was indelible. Kalavango went on to heap more misery onto ladies from the BR Express base, thumping them 3-0. Ends