Table tennis shone the brightest in the midst of a gold-laden sporting year filled with record-breaking feats by various sporting federations to claim the National Sport Association of the Year accolade at this year's Botswana National Sports Awards. The BTTA would have fancied their chances as the nominees' list excluded codes such as athletics, softball, and motorsport that had made appearances at the world stages last year. The BTTA did battle against the Botswana Swimming Sports Association (BSSA) and the Botswana Chess Federation (BCF) at the 44th edition of the awards. Last year, ping-pong was promoted to a tier-one federation under the Botswana National Sport Commission's funding model. The association has, despite less popularity, managed to secure over P2 million in sponsorships. Their sum makes them one of the best sponsored federations in an unforgiving environment characterised by lack of sponsorships. Due to the sponsorships, the BTTA has risen to become a semi-professional sporting career option with an average of a P3, 000 winners' prize with at least one tournament every month.
The BTTA further broke barriers after the hosting of the Africa Youth Championships in July 2024. The federation also hosted the Continental Hopes Week and Challenge in the winter of 2024. A series of international tournaments then followed with the Commonwealth Youth Championships and regional under-15 championships, adding to their Botswana International Open Tournament's rooster. On the table, the BTTA, however, once again failed to make an appearance on the world stage but was present on the continental space both in the juniors and seniors categories. The Under-19 girls' team won a bronze medal at the Africa Youth Championships. In the same tournament, top-ranked junior, Reneilwe Lekorwe, broke new ground to become the most successful local player in the continental competitions as he reached the round of 16. The senior teams did not want to be overshadowed by their younger paddlers. The senior Diteemane's men and women teams brought home bronze medals in team events from the Regional Championships held in Luanda, Angola. The BTTA looked to boost the local coaches' qualification with the pair of Boitshwarelo Butale and Kealeboga Keitseng attaining the level 3 coaching certification. It was a moment to savour for the local game as the ITTF level 3 coaching certificate courses was last held in Africa in 2016.
The pair has moved into an elite class of African coaches. Umpire Ritah Nthaga also attained an elite Blue Badge status in umpiring. Nthaga has been ever-present in continental and world tournaments. In his appreciation statement during the weekend awards, the BTTA president, Kudzanani Motswagole, credited the federation's success to governance whilst ping pong has also seen growth in affiliate clubs. "Our governance and compliance were recognised as 'green' by supreme bodies, governing both the association and clubs, along with timely submissions of our annual returns to the Registrar of Societies. We secured competition equipment and national team sponsorship from Stag Global, enabling us to better equip our athletes for success. We experienced substantial growth with the affiliation of 13 new members, showcasing the expanding interest and participation in the sport," Motswagole said.
