30 May 2022

 About 60 polers battled it out in the 2022 Nkashi Classic at Mbiroba Polers Camp grounds in Seronga on Saturday, to select the fastest poler in the Okavango.
Polers raced to win the coveted titles of fastest poler in the categories of fastest male, fastest female and fastest veteran (for men aged 55-years and above).

Nkashi Classic is an annual event organised by Botswana Wild Bird Trust to celebrate culture through mekoro (canoes) and the paddle (Nkashi), which is used to propel it.
Mr Mphetsolang Kesenolotswe of Seronga was crowned the fastest poler in the male category, beating former champion Mr Ralph Moshupa of Jao.
In an interview, the elated Mr Kesenolotswe, who was a rookie in the poler competitions, said he learnt paddling a canoe from his father, at a young age.
He encouraged young people to take tips from the elders on how to paddle canoes in order to preserve the culture.

The women category was won by Ms Kgololo Boeng of Etsha 13, who was also competing for the first time.
Ms Boeng said she learnt how to use Nkashi at the age of six, from her parents and gained more experience as a freelance guide, transporting tourists across the Okavango River.
Another Seronga-native, Obusitswe Masimo was crowned the fastest in the male veteran category.

The first position winners got P4000 cash prize sponsored by Okavango Wilderness Project, P500 Choppies food hampers from Great Plains Conservation, food and toiletries from Maun Lepopo Food and Liquor Services, as well as merchandise from Botswana Wild Bird Trust.

Second position winners got P1000 cash, P300 Choppies food hampers and toiletries as well as merchandise from Botswana Wild Bird Trust.
Third position received P500, P250 Choppies food hampers and toiletries as well as merchandise from Botswana Wild Bird Trust.
Botswana Wild Bird Trust Director, Koketso Mookodi said the event that was first held in Maun in 2018, targeted communities in the waterways in the Ngamiland region.

Mookodi said due to the dry spell that befell the Thamalakane River in Maun, the event could not be held the following year, but a festival was held instead to educate people about the Okavango Delta.
The past two years, she said, the Nkashi Classic was postponed due to COVID-19 and this year, the organisers took the event to Seronga as Maun had low water levels.

Mookodi said the event was meant to bring leisure to the people of Seronga and help boost their economy by supporting the service providers.
For next year’s event, she said the plan was to hold mini Nkashi competitions across different parts of Ngamiland and select winners, who would then compete in the finals to be held in Maun. ENDS