GAZETTE REPORTER
Botswana Volleyball Federation (BVF) has shifted its attention to beach volleyball after making huge progress within a short period of time despite lack of adequate resources.
This happens after the qualified pair made up of Sekao Jack and George Chiswaniso recently qualified for the highly-anticipated beach volleyball championships billed for Mexico in August.
BVF introduced competitive beach volleyball with the Khawa Dune Challenge that was held in Khawa Village a fortnight ago that involved nine teams comprising five men’s teams and four women’s teams.
Expanding beach volleyball
The teams were pitted against one another in exhibition matches in a professional setup in BVF’s quest to cultivate interest in the game from the general public.
In an interview with Gazette Sports, BVF president, Tsoseletso Magang, said they intend to expand the sport by tapping into an already established market, events and supporters.
“The sport has been in existence in events like Khawa but for social purposes, hence our intention to make it competitive while maintaining the social one,” she said.
Growth potential
“We will be targeting annual and established social events because we believe that it is the most effective way to reach more people. We intend to spread beach volleyball across the country because of its growth potential that we have realised.”
Magang added that they intend to tour the country to introduce beach volleyball and scout for talent towards having teams at all levels, from development to elite league level.
“We are planning such a countrywide tour to take the sport to the people but it will obviously require a lot of money,” she said.
Social events
“We should be able to attract sponsors when we participate in social events. We are also looking at the feasibility of doing it in remote areas and believe we will succeed.
“I really want to get our athletes to be hands-on and own such events so we empower them. We will provide the technical support necessary because that’s the only way of keeping them in sport.”
Meanwhile, for the first time in the history of Botswana volleyball, BVF has qualified a pair made up of Sekao Jack and George Chiswaniso for the highly-anticipated Beach Volleyball World Championships that are billed for Tlaxcala, Mexico in August.
Winning gold and silver medals
“We have made a huge progress in the sport with only two years in the game,” Magang noted.
“The boys team did us proud by qualifying for the world championships. We have had other local teams dominating the regional beach volleyball series, winning gold and silver medals in the process.
“This is a true reflection of the potential and capability of our players. But we will continue to look for sponsors for indoor volleyball so we grow and improve our players and teams to become more competitive.”