The association is currently struggling due to a lack of facilities to host events. Over the weekend, the association held a cheer festival at the Three Dikgosi Monument in the Central Business District. However, there were power disruptions which affected the performance of the cheerleaders. The BCF spokesperson, Tirelo Ditshipi, told MmegiSport that they do not have a hall or open spaces ideal for the sport.
“Mind you, most of our clubs train in schools or institutions. For hosting events, that is when we hire out, and it is mostly out of our hands if on that day the venue we hire has power interruptions or failures,” she said. Ditshipi said the ideal situation would ideal be if there were many indoor or outdoor facilities affordable, as budgetary constraint is also a factor. “Remember, during this time we have exams countrywide so community halls were inaccessible,” she added. Regarding the weekend event, Ditshipi said the weekend cheerleaders’ festival was a fun environment for clubs.
She added that the event was not competitive but an opportunity for the athletes to learn from each other. She explained that cheerleading is for all ages, including tertiary students. “We have clubs that are at different levels. Most of our clubs are into pom dance, which is an energetic and dynamic style of dance that emphasises precise and synchronised arm movements, formations, jumps, and skills. It is characterised by its use of poms, which dancers hold in their hands throughout the routine. They are at that stage and we should move them a notch up,” she said. Ditshipi said pom dance is the base and once the cheerleaders know the dance routines, they start doing better choreography towards the actual cheerleading.
She said the idea is to inject excitement into the public so that they can start to understand cheerleading. “A number of parents who attended our event were asking about where they can send their children for training. One of our challenges is the recruitment drive. We want to embark on a countrywide recruitment so that we can go to schools and clubs. Our membership is mostly students, if we had school sport, it was going to make sense,” Ditshipi said. She said students are consistent, even if it is a club they are coached and trained in a school environment. Ditshipi said they can monitor how things are going if they are in an organised environment, enabling them to monitor and regulate how cheerleading is going. Ten clubs attended the cheerleading festival from Gaborone, Lobatse, and Mahalapye. Ditshipi said four clubs fell off because the students could not make the trip due to logistic challenges.
The BCF recently sent a team to the Africa Cheerleading Championships in Cape Town, South Africa (SA) where they scooped a gold medal in the youth category. The junior royals duo of Nadja Molebatsi and Lishato Nfila is the 2024 Africa Cheerleading Pom Double champions. The two were competing in the freestyle pom double youth division. Reflecting on the championships, Ditshipi noted that SA is a powerhouse hence the need to have a working relationship. “We had some clubs competing in the Provisional championships ahead of the Africa championships. In February, we invited some South African clubs here to attend our cheerleading clinic, which was conducted by coaches from the United States of America. The plan is to gauge ourselves against South Africa,” she said.
Ditshipi said funds permitting, they will invite other countries for the next clinic. She said the next event would be the BCF national championships in December.
