He implored first badge of 15 umpires trained by the Botswana Table Tennis Association (BTTA) last week not to go underground like most officials do after attending courses."BTTA has invested a lot of resources on you to be learned officials who can compete at par with the rest of the world as part of its bigger strategy of positioning itself. The responsibility remains yours to make sure you plough back what you have learnt into the development of sport," he said. He asserted that history has proven that such initiatives as training officials are taken in good faith but a significant number of those trained disappear shortly after training. "Some officials become too big for the organisation and demand pay for their services after being trained for free," he said. He added that though he did not have a problem with officials demanding better pay, it is up to the individuals to build their association to be able to reward them well. He said the most important thing that each individual sportsperson should aspire for is personal improvement in skills and character. "It is incumbent upon you to prove that you deserved to be sent for the course," he said. He stated that the success of the officials will be judged by the extent to which the athletes improve their skills and become better people. He urged the BTTA to overhaul its act.
Reikeletseng was the guest speaker at the graduation ceremony. The officials were trained by the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) referee Arthur Williams who is based in South Africa. Reikeletseng advised BTTA that making the sport popular takes commitment, passion and good planning. "You need as an association to define your strategy and your model of execution going forward," Reikeletseng said.
