Hardy takes a bow with mixed emotions
Calistus Kolantsho | Monday December 2, 2024 11:43
She made history by becoming the first BBA president to complete her reign, unlike her predecessors who resigned. Hardy revealed that she would also not seek re-election for the Botswana National Olympic Committee (BNOC) board position when elections are held next year. “I have made my decision, I am done with that part of my journey. I am a FIBA Africa board member and my dream is to be a FIBA World board member,” she said. Hardy told MmegiSport this week that one of her success stories was the implementation of the 3x3 basketball. “When it was introduced as an Olympic sport in 2020, I was there. I saw the vision and I understood clearly how 3x3 could work for us as a country. When we play against other countries, in the 5x5, we are not up to par. Population wise, in other countries a 5x5 team is drafted from thousands of players whilst here we will have around 60 players showing up for trials,” she said.
Hardy said the other challenge for 5x5 is lack of resources whilst 3x3 is easy to manage and allocate points. She said it was important to introduce 3x3 when it was still new and they used to be number one in the zone and number eight in Africa. “Some people were worried that the 3x3 will swallow the 5x5. I never had that worry because they are different disciplines but I saw our strength here. When we received the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) award in 2019 for number one in the world in terms of implementation of 3x3, we took it seriously. At the time we set up, there were centres in Francistown, Serowe, Maun, Kang, Pitsane, Lobatse, and Gaborone,” she said. She added that countries such as Botswana should invest in short versions of different sporting codes such as beach volleyball, fast 5 netball, baseball 5, and 3x3 basketball because they are easy to manage.
Hardy said the BBA Northern League has been introduced because it was costly for teams to travel for games in Gaborone. She said the league is building faster than they anticipated and the talent is massive. Hardy said her regret is leaving basketball without a facility. “Having a facility was one of the four goals I wanted to achieve. I fought for it, at one point fighting the minister (of Sport).The BBA plot was taken back because they wanted to build a football academy. We were told it was a government decision and later we were told the academy was not happening because of the master plan. There was another piece of land in Extension 12. We requested for it to be developed into an indoor facility but the land was handed over to a private entity. They then took away our access,” she said. Hardy explained that she applied to the Gaborone City Council for the usage of a vacant space to build a facility. She said it was only recently that she received a call asking her if she was still interested. “By then I had managed to find a funder who was ready to build a facility for us. It is a sad thing when we have national team camps and leagues we have to pay some institutions to use their facilities. It is a painful part because sport is facilities,” Hardy said.
She noted that sporting codes should be allowed access into schools to use facilities, adding that even councils have facilities but it is not clear how they can be utilised. Hardy explained that lack of access to facilities is a disadvantage when it comes to seeking sponsorship. “Branding for sponsorships is important to sponsors but you cannot brand someone’s property. We are unable to have a clean image. Even training is limited and that compromises performance,” she said. Meanwhile, Hardy complimented Dorothy Okach, saying she has been a source of pride for basketball. The FIBA-accredited referee officiated at the Paris 2024 Olympics. “I am leaving as a happy woman in basketball. I have done what is within my ability as a person, as an administrator, and as a woman leader. I have left it all in the court,” Hardy said. Hardy is of the opinion that there should be one, instead of two entities, the Botswana National Sport Commission and the Botswana Olympic Committee, running sport since the goal is the same.