New Xade pupil tops BOPSSA awards
Mosah Mokganedi | Wednesday December 4, 2013 15:21
He was named the BOPSSA sports person of the year during the awards ceremony held in Gaborone on Monday night. He was the best male in the athletics category. Kganxlau is part of the team that has won gold in the 4 x 100m Confederation of School Sports Associations of Southern Africa (COSSASA) in the last two years. Early this year, the team set a new COSSASA record when it won the race in Zimbabwe. Another athlete that shone at the event was Gaonyadiwe Ontlametse of Moineedi Primary School who was crowned the best and promising female footballer on Monday night.
Athletes and officials were honoured in 36 categories from the five sports codes under BOPSSA. In other awards, Molebeledi Dibebe was named the best male footballer while Gape Khibeng of Taumanthe is the most promising male footballer.
In cricket, Goabile Matome of Bokaa Primary is the best male player while Losika Makgale is the most promising player. Kegomoditswe Ditsebe is the best umpire with Thabo Sedimo of Phuthadikobo Primary, the top coach.
The BOPSSA awards ceremony was held under the theme; ‘Rewarding Sports Excellence At Grassroots Level’ to motivate athletes.
Officiating at the event, Assistant Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, Botlogile Tshireletso commended BOPSSA for unearthing and nurturing talent. She said if talent is nurtured as early as now, the country will continue to have big names in sports like soccer stars, Mogakolodi ‘Tsotso Ngele’ and Dipsy Selolwane.
She advised athletes to work hard and be enthusiastic about sports so that they can excel. “Enthusiasm, commitment and hard work must be seen as boosters of successes for without them, there would be very few achievements,” she said. Tshireletso said there are a lot of unforeseen obstacles that hinder excellence but they are insignificant for people who have passion. She encouraged sports codes under BOPSSA not to rely solely on government for funding. “I urge you to put more effort in lobbying the business community for sponsorship. A good example is sponsorship of the football code by Metropolitan,” she said.