A strong contingent of 29 karatekas consisting of 11 females and 18 males has been selected for the tournament. Botswana will participate in kata for Under-16 and Under-17 girls, boys Under 13 and 15 kumite and junior individual kata and kumite. The senior team will take part in kata and kumite for both men and women.
Botswana Karate Association (BOKA) junior development coach, George Tshikare said his charges are well prepared for the tournament. He stated that this is not the first time for some of the juniors to take part in the Commonwealth Championships. Last year four boys from the junior side attended the event and came back with kumite gold from Khaya Groth and Rafael Reed. "We are very prepared and we know what to expect especially since we are taking more participants this time around," Tshikare said. The junior team has been training twice daily at the Sir Seretse Khama Barracks (SSKB). Tshikare said the training was mainly aimed at sharpening awareness in kata and kumite. He said that he is expecting a gold medal from the girls' team which is currently performing exceptionally well.
