Hockey returns with 5s tourney
The annual Hockey 5s tournament is scheduled for August 7 at the Botswana Hockey Association (BHA) grounds in Gaborone with many clubs expected to grace what is anticipated to be a high stakes and competitive event. The tournament was not played last year due to the suspension of sport.
“The purpose of this tournament is to ensure that the development of hockey in the country gains traction and the number of teams we have in the country grows, hopefully this will influence the number of technical courses for empires, officials and team administrators,” said the Chief Organizer of the tournament, Tumelo Sekate who added that about six clubs are expected to take part in the tournament.
Sekate conceded that sponsorship has been hard to get since the inception of the tournament. However he further explained that the association is doing all it can to at least, get someone to sponsor with drinking water and sanitizers at the tournament.
“We are even looking for sponsors that can help us with prize money for the tournament but we are not asking for much honestly; we just want to keep our players motivated and ensure that they don’t despair,” he said.
Sekate admits there won’t be a lot of changes in the tournament as COVID-19 has badly affected their planning and organizing of the tournament.
“We have switched locations to a friendlier environment; our previous venue, the University of Botswana got boundaries that were not friendly to the game flow.
We will play at an open venue that will allow everyone to express themselves through the sport.”
Participation is still from the same teams that competed in 2019, but there is hope that there will be an increase in participation as the clock ticks and the event becomes popular, among the hockey community. Clubs expected at the event include Maun Hockey Club, Basil Hockey Club, Jwaneng HC, UB Oryx, Hitmen and Kanye HC.
The Hockey 5s, is a fledgling format that is rapidly spreading its wings. It has evoked cynicism and thrill, the shorter version of the sport will replace the traditional 11-a-side game at the Olympics in the near future, the Hockey 5s World Cup will be launched in 2023.