23 Mar 2017

 Kopano Primary School in Selebi Phikwe hosted the North/South Primary Schools Swimming Gala recently with 139 pupil from schools in the southern and northern regions of the country taking part in the event.

The athletes competing in the event were selected from the best pool of swimmers in their respective regions to give them the opportunity to compete among the best swimmers in Botswana, in various age categories, ranging from under nine years to under 13 years for both boys and girls.

In an interview, Nasim Miller who is the headmaster of Kopano Primary School, which hosted the event, said the sponsors of the event were SPAR and SPEDU.

He said the swimming gala was an annual event.

He said the hosting of the swimming gala rotated among schools in the northern  and sourthern regions respectively.

The objective of the swimming gala, he said was to unearth swimming talent, nurture it and give children the opportunity to compete in big competitions in order to prepare them for major events, such as the Botswana Games.

Miller said he was happy with the support the event received, as many spectators from the mining town of Selebi Phikwe and other parts of the country attended to give support the young swimmers.

He stated that he hoped that bringing the event to Selebi Phikwe would show that the town was well located for sporting events and sport tourism.

“Many young Batswana from all over the country were competing in the event and it was a great opportunity to showcase these talented athletes to the country and to show how far sport has developed in Botswana,” he said. Also, he noted that the swimming gala showed that there was a lot of life in Selebi Phikwe.

In addition, he said through the swimming gala, they were able to rank athletes individually, according to the number of points they collected for their teams in both male and female categories in all age group.

The age groups were Under-9, Under-10, Under-11, Under-12 and Under-13 categories. He said the move gave swimmers the opportunity to also keep a performance record of other swimmers. ENDS