Northern Zone To Be Represented In BSSA
Calistus Kolantsho | Monday May 24, 2021 15:40
The new changes wIll be implemented next year when the BSSA constitution is amended.
The motion was adopted during an elective general meeting that was held over the weekend in Gaborone. The mover of the motion, Gondo Gondo told Sport Monitor after the meeting that swimming is mainly centered in the Southern part of the country. “In the past five years, swimming has grown drastically in the South and about four clubs have been established. In the North, clubs that used to affiliate to BSSA have died and only one is operating. The BSSA executive committee had no idea what was happening in the North. With this motion, it means the leadership would be kept abreast with everything that is happening in the North, hence the need for the change,” he said. Gondo also said there are many swimmers in schools, but nothing is happening at club level. He explained that any National Sport Association (NSA) governing body has a representative from the North who updates them about the region. He said the previous BSSA leadership had no idea of what was happening in the North.
“We were to have a training camp for the AUSC Region 5 Games in 2018 and they sent a team to a swimming pool that was not functional. That is how disconnected they were. In the previous season, there were swimming galas that were scheduled for the North, they had no idea how many swimming pools were there despite being the decision making body. They needed somebody to say listen, we appreciate that you want to host competitions here, but this are the venues available,” Gondo said.
Meanwhile, the new BSSA president, Andrew Freeman said initially when he became part of the executive six years ago, there was a lot of mistrust and politics within swimming. He said it was difficult to establish the reasons behind that. He said the previous committee under the leadership of Ruth Van Der Merwe did a sterling job especially the successful hosting of CANA Zone IV championships.
Freeman said he has been handed a stable association and plans to keep it that way. He said swimming just like any sport code, has been hit hard by the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic. Freeman said it is now time to find a way to move forward. Freeman said his new role means more responsibilities, however, he has experience of being part of the executive. He said the idea is to build on what the previous committee was building.
“They did a good job and I will not allow anything to slip. I told some of the members and committee that I would be leading them from the back,” he said.
The committee comprises:
Sidingulwazi Sibanda (vice president-technical)
Tallman Nkgau (vice president-administration)
Kgaotsang Matthews (secretary general)
Solomon Mpusetsang (vice secretary general), and
Matshelo Radimo (treasurer)
Additional members: Gondo and Roseline Seleka