Wrestling, BNSC headed for a choke slam
Calistus Kolantsho | Saturday June 25, 2022 06:00
Sharp said the allocation for the 2022-2023 financial year, which BWF received was insufficient. He said before the outbreak of COVID-19 their grant was P250,000, but now the amount has been reduced to the same level as when BWF was established.
Sharp said it seems like BNSC is not happy with the BWF constitution. “What the BNSC does not understand is that our constitution is aligned to that of the United World Wrestling (UWW).
The term in office for the president and executive committee is the same as that of the world wrestling governing body,” he said. Sharp said what surprises him is that the Botswana Sport Coaches Federation has adopted some of the extracts from the wrestling constitution.
He, however, said it is only the BWF constitution that is condemned. Sharp said it seems like some officers at BNSC do not understand how sport works. “There is an issue that I have overstayed in office.
This is volunteerism. I am doing this because of passion. I also have other positions outside the country. I am the president of the Professional Wrestling of Africa and I also sit in the International Jump Rope Union world governing body. There is no way I can say I am refusing to step down,” he said. Sharp said he is developing wrestling and later, he can hand over the seat. He said they always submit annual returns and reports. “This issue makes me emotional. It seems like they do not understand how things operate.
If the BNSC does not agree with you on certain things, you end up being their enemy. If we continue this way, sport will not grow. This is sabotage by the secretariat and it has been there for a long time. Ke ba supa ka monwana tota,” he said. Sharp said as a new sport code, they could not be expected to have sent athletes to international competitions.
He said other National Sport Associations (NSA), who are regarded as being bigger, receive larger grants despite failing compliance. He said the situation has forced wrestling to switch to commercialising merchandise, which includes bottled water and t-shirts. “We are expected to meet today (Friday) to iron out our differences,” he said. BNSC chief executive officer, Tuelo Serufho said the BNSC’s approach to funding sport is such that they put more money where the greatest returns are. “We are guided by the National Vision 2036 and our (BNSC) Vision 2028 in identifying NSAs or events and activities in which to put money,” he said.
Serufho explained that among others, the BNSC considers sustainability for athletes within a certain sport code. Such considerations are; can an athlete in the future live off a sport as a professional, can athletes in the future get scholarships through their sport such that they can improve themselves, and does the sport have the potential to create employment for athletes here at home or prepare them to the level that they could be exported to other countries and does the sport presently bring good results or has future potential to do so? He said they also consider if is it a type of sport that will fill Batswana with happiness when athletes perform well and the extent to which a sport can contribute to the economy through the numerous ways including hosting of international competitions.
The commercial appeal of a sport such that it can generate private sector funding and sell television rights is also considered. “So the more points one gets, the more funding they will get. In a nutshell, sports with the greatest impact are getting the greatest funding,” Serufho said. Meanwhile, Sharp said they have since realised that people did not like Olympic wrestling. “In 2013, we registered Wrestling Entertainment Championship, which was meant for professional wrestling.
Last year we agreed to introduce entertainment wrestling. We have three shows Power Rumble (men), Claw Hummer (men), and Next Wrestling Entertainment for women,” he said.
Sharp said the first pro-wrestling show would be held during the Lobatse Sports Festival in July. He said they have signed 30 wrestlers after auditions that were held across the country. “We have a challenge with a wrestling ring and it means at the moment we have to hire a boxing ring. But it is not suitable for our matches,” he said.