18 Aug 2026

For the first time, Botswana, hosted the 2026 Africa Genesis Archery (AGA) championship which attracted 198 archers from Botswana, South Africa, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

The event held at Big Valley Game Lodge, near Lobatse on Saturday saw South Africa emerging victorious, receiving the golden trophy of the championship while Namibia came second, attaining silver and Botswana settled for bronze.

With fingers locked on their bowstrings with firm and unyielding determination, contestants showed their mental agility and precision.

Team Botswana had sent 48 archers who competed under the Bulls Eye category where they shot three ranking flights to determine the winner. 

They also competed under the 2D Animals on targets category where competitors shot two 2D flights.

“I feel proud of myself and my team. This is what I came to get and I am happy that I managed to achieve it. I will not give up,” said 17-year-old Caden De John of Botswana who won the overall bulls eye Junior category. 

He appreciated the support and the mentoring he attained from his Valley Academy coach and expressed his wishes to see the sport grow.

AGA Botswana president, Leslie Bezuidenhout said archery was one of the amazing sports that brought people together and must therefore be developed in the country.

He highlighted that the sport had shown growth, adding that Botswana started with three archers in 2017 and now had over 80.

“We started from nothing to build a family of archers and we want to do more to build this sport,” he said.

Meanwhile, AGA Federation president Wilhelm Greeff appreciated that archers had improved their performance and thus enhanced intensity of competition. 

He said the first archery competition started at Limpopo province in South Africa in 2013, and appreciated Botswana for taking it a notch higher in hosting what he termed ‘a great tournament’.

Additionally, Greeff said the sport, which uses the standard bow and arrow, was all inclusive and had developed over the years.

“South Africa has dominated the medal table over the years and we see that other countries are showing tremendous improvement. Every second year we hold the Africa tournament and in between we have the world tournament where other countries including Canada participate,” he said. 

“The tournament was held in Namibia last year. This year is Botswana then next year we will go to Canada to give equal opportunity for all participating countries,” he added. ENDS