Moorosi Tsiane
LESOTHO Volleyball Association (LVA) vice president, Masoli Khoanyane, is worried that some of the key players in the African Union Sports Council (AUSC) Region 5 Games team could be withdrawn because they will be sitting for their final examinations.
Khoanyane said some of the players have already explained to their coaches, Tšepo Raletooane (boys) and Pekosela Nthako (girls), that they will be writing some examinations on 3 December 2021, the opening day of the AUSC Games.
The games are expected to end on 12 December in Maseru. Volleyball will be played at Lehakoe.
He said they have discussed the matter in their meetings with the team manager but said they were still hoping for the Gender, Youth, Sport and Recreation Ministry and its Education and Training ministry to come up with a compromise.
“We have some students in our teams who will be writing their LGSCE on the starting date of the games so it has become a challenge,” Khoanyane said.
“Some players have already raised the matter and we are hoping that the Sport and Education ministries can find a compromise and find a solution.”
While they were yet to raise matter formally, Khoanyane said they were hoping it would be resolved soon because other sporting codes will also be affected.
“Learners need time to prepare for their examinations and similarly, athletes also need to prepare. Therefore, we are in a quandary.
“Our preparations started three weeks ago and our teams have been meeting on weekends for training but the challenge is that only local players have been able to train.”
Last weekend, the teams participated in preparatory matches where the girls emerged victorious while the boys lost. And Khoanyane suspects that the lack of training affected the boys.
He however, said both coaches were happy with their teams and would continue their weekend training schedules until the final camp just before the beginning of the games.
The teams will also be involved in a preparatory tournament in two weeks, Khoanyane said.
