Red Tape blocks registration of Shooting Association
Calistus Kolantsho | Tuesday December 9, 2025 10:31
One of the requirements for the registration of an association is that there should be 20 clubs, which is far-fetched considering the nature of the sport. Gaborone Rifle Club chairperson, Jon Smuts, told Sport Monitor that they have been trying to register but had nothing.
He said they have been hitting a brick wall with authorities hence making it difficult for them to register.
“Some of us we shoot in South Africa on a professional level. The Registrar says we should have 20 clubs, you cannot have 20 clubs with the red tape on the issuing of permits for firearms, it cannot happen,” he bemoaned.
“It is also expensive to buy a firearm, you have to pay to participate in a competition and we also buy our ammunition through a certified supplier.
“We have a registration for all the ammunition we sell to our members, so that we can trace back what we sold to whom. Everything is done according to the law.”
Smuts said it seems like the authorities do not fully understand the nature of the sport, at the moment they have three registered clubs.
He called upon the authorities to visit the shooting range in order to understand what they do.
Smuts added that his goal is to have the association registered in order to have a national team that can represent Botswana at international competitions like Olympic Games.
Meanwhile, the chairperson said the three-day Botswana National Open competition that ended on Sunday was the final clay pigeon shooting competition of the year.
He said they develop a calendar of events at the beginning of each year which consists of events such as rifle shooting, shotgun shooting which clay pigeon shooting and air rifle shooting.
“The Botswana National Open is our biggest event of the year, hence it was held over three days and because of the amount of disciplines we shoot here.
“In the shotgun category we had four disciplines being down the line (DTL), Amateur Trap Association (ATA), Amateur Trap Association Doubles (ATAD), Automatic Ball Trap (ABT). The disciplines are classed according to their difficulty with ATA being the easiest, followed by DTL, and ABT, with ATAD being the most difficult,” he said.
Smuts revealed that Botswana Defence Force (BDF) has come onboard and had sent five participants. He said the shooting sport has more than 100 years in Botswana, and it started in a local garrison in Village Location, Gaborone.
He said they encourage the public to become part of the sport. Participants will be taught on firearm handling, safety, because there is a perception that guns are dangerous, but they are dangerous with the person handling the gun.
For his part, talented youngster 12-year old Pieter Bernard had a good day on the range, with perfect gun handling skills. He said some days can be good while others can be tough, on a good day one might wish to shoot the entire targets.
“I like shooting any weapons especially clays, it is fun. My father is the one who inspired me to join shooting sport, his support is amazing. I started shooting at five years,” Bernard said.
Sasha Inambao said she did not prepare for the competition because she arrived in the country on Monday, only to be told that she is will be shooting.
She explained that despite that, she had a good competition, with results of 20/25, 21/25 but it good a bit difficult towards the end.