BTTA Donates Table Tennis Equipment to Ghanzi Schools

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Botswana Table Tennis Association (BTTA) recently donated table tennis equipment to some schools in the Ghanzi area as part of efforts to encourage kids to play the sport at an early age. The association donated two super mini table to Foundation Nursery School in Ghanzi, one competition table to Xanagas Primary School while Rethuseng Secondary School at Charleshill and Power master table tennis club of Ghanzi also received one competition table each. Presenting the donations, BTTA development coordinator, Katlego Nkwakweng said they wanted to introduce table tennis at an early age for pupils to have a firm foundation of the sport and grasp the basics better.

She was of a view that her association would not achieve the desired results without continued training and thus she proposed they should have training centres to grow table tennis sport and produce best athletes. BTTA president, Kudzanani Motswagole emphasised the association's commitment to grow the sport across the country and bring it closer to the community. Motswagole stated that currently, they were going through a transformation by moving from amateur code to a professional code.

In this transformation, he said they have been sponsored by Phoenix Assurance Group- Botswana while they have partnered with STAG international for equipment. The transformation, he said presented opportunities to those who played table tennis to see it as something they can make a living out of. We want to channel more funds in our spot, particularly towards grassroots development, and we want to produce world-class players. He urged coaches to afford pupils an opportunity to choose their sporting path.

Project officer at Botswana National Sports Commission), Fredrick Kabadiretse said sport grassroots development was the way to go. Kebadiretse said by targeting pupils at an early age, BTTA was planting a seed to generate their interest with hope that one day a champion would emerge. BTTA efforts especially towards sport development were incredible and would go a long way to make sure that children practiced with the right equipment and facilities. By the time they start competing, they would be having the right skills.

Assistant manager-Foundation Nursery School, Constance Legere and Rethuseng Secondary School sports master, Lephoi Letsenene pleaded with BTTA to organise coaching workshops to equip coaches with the right skills. Meanwhile, Rethuseng Secondary School head, Gertrude Masunga stated that is evidence that the government and private sector were playing a role in developing sport, that sport was part of the curriculum and should be taken seriously.