The Botswana National Olympic Committee (BNOC), which incorporates the Commonwealth Games Association, will be hosting the Queen’s Baton Relay event for the 2010 Commonwealth Games from 25th to 28th January.
BNOC Secretary General, Moses Moruisi, said that this year’s Queen’s Baton Relay will be held in Ramotswa on 26th January, followed by a Junior Cricket Festival on the 27th January at the Gaborone Cricket Club.
“Prominent veterans and current Botswana elite athletes as well as school children will participate in the relay starting at 0700hours from the Boatle turn-off along the Gaborone/Lobatse highway and ending at the Ramotswa Main Kgotla,” said Moruisi.
The Queen’s Baton Relay is a mass participation and fun event whose primary aim is to herald the advent of the Commonwealth Games to the 71 countries and territories making the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF).
Moruisi explained that the Queen’s Baton Relay 2010 commenced from Buckingham Palace, London, on the 29 of October. The baton will travel through all other 70 Commonwealth Nations in a historic journey that will cover a distance of more than 170,000 kilometers in 240 days.
“It’s only formal that the baton tours all participating countries and always starts at the palace. It’s just like the Olympic torch,” said Moruisi. He further explained that by the end of its journey, the baton will have traversed over 190,000 kilometers in 340 days, making the Queen’s Baton Relay 2010 Delhi one of the longest relays in the history of the Commonwealth Games.
“The Commonwealth Games are a major multi-sporting event that provides a useful platform for Botswana’s elite or high performance athletes as well as those from other Commonwealth countries and territories,” he said.
He added that the torch will leave Botswana on the 28th for another relay in other Commonwealth countries. The actual 2010 Commonwealth Games will be held in Delhi, India from the 3rd to the 14th of October this year.
