Softball Extravaganza struggles to attract sponsors
Calistus Kolantsho | Saturday July 1, 2023 06:00
The annual tournament is set for the upcoming President’s Day holidays in Selebi-Phikwe. The Local Organising Committee (LOC) chairperson, Oeme Morupisi said SPEDU has pledged P200,000, a cut from last year's P300,000.
“That is prize money for teams. We are requesting sponsorship for athletes. Our tournament has been held since 2009 except for the two years when the sport was suspended,” he said.
Morupisi said they have approached many companies and the response is that they have not recovered from the impact of COVID-19. Meanwhile, extravaganza eliminations for North and South zones will be held over the weekend. Northern teams will battle it out in Orapa while the Southern zone battleground is the National Diamond.
The Botswana Softball Association (BSA) public relations officer, Kelly Monyake said the deadline for registration for the tournament was Wednesday. She said the eliminations are for both men's and women's teams in the two zones. The eliminations are being held in the middle of the transfer window. Monyake said the transfer window opened on June 16 and it will close on July 31.
“It is upon teams who wish to secure the services of players of their choice to see to it that they clear the players before the eliminations so that in the event they qualify for the tournament, the players will be eligible to play. Alternatively, you can choose to have the player not play for their current team or the one they want to join, then clear after eliminations,” she said.
Monyake said national team players will not be allowed to play in the eliminations. “We cannot risk injuries on the final team that is ready for departure to the WBSC World Cup group stages in Ireland,” she said. Meanwhile, Carats spokesperson, Phologo Lebopo said they are ready to welcome the visitors to the diamond-mining town. “We started preparations for the games this week.
The leadership was undecided if the games will be coming here or going to Mahalapye. Yesterday we were informed that only three clubs have registered, it is a dicey situation, let us see how the BSA will handle it,” he said.
Lebopo said Orapa is a good host because the playing grounds are in good condition. Wells International spokesperson, Segolame Raesima said teams have been reluctant to start preparations as dates for eliminations were released late. “However, it is going to be an interesting weekend because most teams will not be fielding some of their best players due to national team commitments,” Raesima said.
The winners of the tournament will walk away with P20,000 in both the men's and women's categories. The second spot finish earns the teams P15,000. Teams that finish in the third position take home P12,000 while position four has a P10,000 cheque. Prizes are allocated until position eight. There are individual prizes for most valuable players (P750), best youngest player (P500), slugger (P500), best catcher (P500), and best pitcher (P500).
Teams for the elimination
South Women- Titans, Panthers, Wells International, BDF IX, Vikings, UB Giants Men- Panthers, Dinare, Wells, BDF IX, Vikings, UB Giants
North Women-Carats, Rail Giants Men- Carats, Rail Giants, Rebels