adminRobert Mutsauki in ABUJA, Nigeria
IT is July 2010 in Rabat, Morocco, during the first edition of the African Youth Games when Tuelo Serufho the secretary-general of the Botswana National Olympic Committee approaches me indicating that Botswana wishes to host the second edition of these Games.
I get the impression that this is a bold if not ambitious but at the same time sincere expression of interest and immediately point him in the direction of the Anoca president, General Lassana Palenfo and the rest, as they say, is history.
It goes without saying that thereafter the BNOC had to go through the due process of stakeholder consultation, convincing their Government to support this major project, and formally bidding for the Games culminating in the signing of the hosting agreement by the parties in March 2013 and of course setting up the Local Organising Committee known as Botswana African Youth Games Organising Committe.
As it turned out Serufho found himself at the helm of BAYGOC as chief executive after being seconded by the BNOC … as if to allow him to successfully complete the mission he started informally in Morocco. A powerful Board led by the elegant Regina Sikalesele-Vaka was appointed to guide and direct the hosting of the biggest sporting event in Botswana’s history. Fast forward to the beginning of May 2014 and I have just arrived in Gaborone to work with BAYGOC, fine-tuning the organisational and technical aspects in the home stretch of the 2nd African Youth Games. There is clear evidence on the ground that BAYGOC has played its part in terms of the necessary preparatory work and mobilisation of resources as well as marketing the Games.
My confidence continues to grow during the first week as I consult with the BAYGOC Management and Board delving into specific details of the functional areas… as they say, the devil is in the detail. Following a workshop at which all functional managers make presentations highlighting progress to date, I decide to put my head on the block by declaring that the Games, which are now only two weeks away, will be a success.
Although I get a loud cheer for this positive and bold prediction coming from a supposedly well informed Anoca official, I am painfully aware of the big assumption I am making, namely that everybody will play their part throughout the entire process as envisaged in the master plan.
To avoid an easier said than done scenario, we spend the next two weeks focusing on execution.
In the end we deliberately decide to rope in and assign a few experienced experts and technocrats at our disposal to advise and support the young functional managers who while undoubtedly competent could in our estimation benefit from collaboration with ‘experienced hands’.
This arrangement of course falls into the realm of knowledge transfer and is part of the legacy of Gaborone 2014.
The first two or three days of Games are the most challenging mainly from a co-ordination point of view and Gaborone 2014 was no exception.
However, the fact that the challenges had been anticipated by preparing for the worst case scenario, meant that the impact was not really debilitating.
One of the major challenges was late release of buses to move delegations from the airport to the Games Village and the situation was compounded by a number of unannounced early arrivals which no doubt also impacted on accommodation and catering. The spectacular opening ceremony, which was presided over by the Head of State, Ian Khama was widely acknowledged and hailed as ‘world class’ by many respected figures within the Olympic and Sport movement and this set the tone for the rest of the Games.
The ceremony, complete with fireworks and televised live by SuperSport and Botswana Television, simply told the endearing story of Botswana and its facets in a way which made the multitudes in the stadium feel proud to be African.
As I followed the absorbing proceedings I could not help but get the feeling that this was perhaps the most memorable and redeeming moment for Anoca in its entire history, spell binding the entire continent and uniting the youth of Africa in celebration of sport, education and culture, earning tons of much needed respect and admiration in the process.
One of the masterstrokes for Gaborone 2014 was to bring all 21 African Sports Confederations on board starting with inspection and certification of sports venues and equipment, crafting the technical manuals outlining the sport specific rules and regulations as well as overseeing the competition management working hand-in-hand with their affiliates, the National Sport Federations.
This wise investment paid dividends when the competitions started as everything turned out to be smooth and seamless in the hands of these experts who have perfected the art of organising various regional and continental championships every year.
The sports venues themselves were of a very high standard giving the young athletes the ideal conditions and opportunity to achieve their best possible performances. Improved performances were the order of the day and Nanjing qualifiers emerged in good numbers in athletics, badminton, basketball and swimming (sport codes designated as qualifiers).
The spectators packed the venues and provided added motivation to the athletes who all seemed hungry for success. The level of competition itself was very high in this 14 to 18 age range where performance is to a large extent still balanced and mainly based on talent which is yet to be fully developed.
Another encouraging factor was the reduced gap in terms of gender balance among the athletes who are basically all still in the school system in their respective countries… it is common cause that generally in Africa the numbers among girls actively participating in competitive sport decline significantly when they leave Secondary or High School, a most unfortunate development indeed.
The increase in the number of sport codes from 16 in 2010 to 21 this year meant the Games had grown quite significantly and more efficient organisation was required.
The number of athletes doubled to 2 000 from 51 countries (41 in Morocco) with only Eritrea, Gambia and Mauritania failing to show up. The newest member of the African continent, South Sudan, participated in boys basketball (3 on 3) and reached the quarter-finals.
The fact that a number of sports venues were within walking distance of the Games Village (University of Botswana) made life easier for the organisers and saved time and transport costs.
Delegations walked to the National Stadium for the opening and closing ceremonies as well as the athletics competition. Some football matches, netball, rugby, swimming and tennis competitions did not require transport. Only two venues outside Gaborone city (50km) were used to stage badminton, triathlon and volleyball competitions in a bid to spread the Games.
Robert Mutsauki is the Technical Director of the Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa (Anoca) and is based at the organisation’s headquarters in Abuja, Nigeria.
Online Reporter