Sport codes shun Athletes Village
Some National Sport Associations (NSA) are shunning the Botswana National Sport Commission’s Athletes village located in Gaborone.
The BNSC acquired the Athletes Village, located in Block 9, from the Botswana Housing Corporation in 2007 and refurbished the facility at a cost of P4 million.
Despite the upgrade, some sport codes have reservations about the facility. The bone of contention is that the Athletes Village is located further away from match venues, most of which are around the National Stadium. Affiliates say this is an inconvenience as transporting teams comes at a cost.
Botswana Tennis Association (BTA) president, Oatsi Thipe told Mmegi Sport that the Athletes Village is far and at times it is not available. “It is easier for players to train and then go and rest not far from the tennis courts. The Athletes Village is misplaced. You must also remember that it does not come free,” he said.
Thipe argued that the decision to buy the flats was not well planned. He said BNSC has plenty of land behind the National Stadium that could have been used to build an Athletes Village.
The local Commonwealth Games boxing team stayed in lodges located in Tlokweng and the Main Mall. Boxing secretary general, Taolo Tlouetsile said they prefer lodges near the National Stadium, because the Athletes
Village is far. “Athletes Village gets busy during the AUSC Region 5 Games, because those are young athletes who are not accustomed to hotels. You will see the facility fully booked in December,” he said.
Tlouetsile added it was unfortunate that when BNSC increased prices, they became at par with what lodges charge and the disadvantage is that the Athletes Village is far.
He said things took a turn for NSAs when BNSC sold buses, which means codes are forced to source transport services from elsewhere.
Botswana Table Tennis Association president, Kudzanani Motswagole, holds a different perspective from other NSAs.
“Maybe they are talking about the old Athletes Village. The refurbished facility has the same standard as lodges. Distance-wise it is far. People go to the grounds, not the other way round.
One might argue that the facility could have been built at the National Stadium, but still, it was going to inconvenience other codes,” he said. He added that other codes such as table tennis use facilities in places like BUAN (the Botswana University of Agriculture and Natural Resources) and Ba Isago University.
Motswagole said facilities should benefit everyone.
“If it does not fall in the bracket of benefiting everyone it is an indication that nothing can be common for everyone. We need a master plan to address sport issues. Year in, year out, we are not doing anything to develop sport. We must be constructing sport facilities annually,” he said.
Motswagole said costs affect everyone, not only sport and people must find a way around it. He said NSAs should not be complaining about the location of Athletes Village, because there is nothing that can be done about it.
BNSC chief executive officer (CEO), Tuelo Serufho said it would have been ideal if the Athletes Village was located within the National Stadium precinct.
“We will not say Block 9 is too far, especially when we take into account the many advantages that the facility offers when compared to others. Regarding the gym, indeed there is none at the Athletes Village at the moment,” Serufho said.
“However, we can confirm that most national team athletes use the gym at the National Stadium and that should compensate for there not being one at the Athletes Village.
All rooms are equipped with television sets. In addition, there is free internet and air conditioning in all the rooms.” The CEO said the Athletes Village prices are significantly lower compared to other facilities. “The village has different types of rooms. We have two-bed apartments, which accommodate two people at P300 with a fully furnished lounge, kitchenette, bathroom, and toilet. And a three-bed apartment at P450. There are also laundry services provided at no extra cost,” he said. Serufho added national teams prefer to stay at the Athletes Village than other facilities, as it is more affordable. He said teams use other facilities when the Athletes Village is unavailable.