31 Mar 2025

Traditionally, an Athletics Starter also known as a Race Starter is ideal for someone authoritative, able to command respect with a voice which echoes through a full capacity stadium commanding the attention of the athletes and spectators. 

Using commands and signals, an Athletics Starter prepares athletes for the start of a race. They are primarily associated with specific commands like ‘On your marks, Set and Go,’ which one must shout at the top of their voice for all to hear.  However with the advent of technology, the use of loud speaker, microphones and a start gun/pistol has made their work much easier.

 The starter equally decides false starts, determining if a violation has occurred and whether a race should be recalled. Recently, BOPA caught up with one of the local Athlete Starters. Currently the only female Athletics Starter in the country, Olebogeng Oitebetse and she revealled how it all started. 

Though a commanding task which might break or make an athlete, Oitebetse has revealed that the Starter should project an image of calm and control. She said her body language and demeanour could influence the athletes at the starting line. 

Understanding the rules of the competition was highlighted as one of the critical components. A former Secretary General at the Botswana Athletics Association (BAA), she said her love for becoming an Athletics Starter was driven by desire to get into something challenging, interesting and different from what she was doing.

“I therefore followed the path of being an athletics referee. I started with entering the results of the races. I felt that it was not challenging enough, punching the results of a race was just a routine exercise,” she said.

Upon realising that all the Race Starters were men, Oitebetse viewed it as something challenging and worth trying.

“My interest was why all men, what could be stopping women from holding the gun and starting a race,” she wondered.

Her journey into doing what she loved most started by engaging the current National Starter, Philander Vilander. 

“I told him that I was interested in firing the gun to start the races,” she said.

Being the only girl among her siblings, Oitebetse said holding and firing a gun was something that she grew up doing.

 “I was close to my father and therefore developed keen interest in understanding how to use a gun at a young age. Therefore handling a firing gun/pistol to start a race was similar to something that I had been doing with my father. I was used to firing a gun and the banging sound will not terrify me. He was fond of his gun, he would carefully clean his gun and load bullets under my watch whenever he goes for a hunt,” she said. 

Even though Vilander was not convinced from the start that she would do it, also taking into account her small body frame, Oitebetse said he eventually bowed to her request. She confessed that being a starter was not an easy undertaking as one must bear the burden of dragging the machine to which the gun was connected for the whole day.

Oitebetse said firing the gun to start a race was the most crucial part to what an athlete would achieve at the end of a race. Therefore it takes a level-headed, attentive individual concentrating and paying attention to the athletes, other officials and commanding the crowd.

 “I have not yet mastered the art, I am still on the learning process. Every race has its challenges. The approach of starting a sprint is far different from that of a relaxed and long distance race. The calibre of athletes, the stage and the reaction of the crowd will give you a challenge. I believe it will take me three to five years to acquire the confidence that I desire. Athletes are challenging. 

"Today you will start for the top athletes who were attentive and quick when kicking the blogs. The next day you are starting for the youth who were still learning and slow to react. Imagine starting a race for world-renowned local athletes such as Isaac Makwala and Tebogo Letsile. The nerves will be on you, you have to be precise, fire the gun on time for them to take off without unnecessary delay or false starts,” said Oitebetse.

 During the last Orange Golden Grand Prix, Oitebetse was engaged as the start coordinator. She said the stage was demanding as among high profile personnel were officials from World Athletics. 

“It was important for a race to start on time as any delay will jeopardise the whole programme,” she said.

With more practice and more events, Oitebetse is confident that she would perfect her skills and grow. Currently, Oitebetse said she was at the lower level of Athletics Starter and was assigned to do local events. She said her desire was to grow, acquire a Gold status level and become and International Starter.

“My first engagement as a starter was in 2023. I started with races with a slow start, therefore less pressure such as 800m, 3 000m and 5 000m. Gradually, I gained more confidence and my mentor (Vilander) was able to give me short distance races such as 100m and 200m,” she said.

Oitebetse said as a starter,  one was commander of a race.

“How you act will go a long way in the reaction time of an athlete and ultimately on their success. Accuracy, accountability and time consciousness are key attributes that a Starter must possess,” she said.

Qualified by the World Athletics Technical Officials Education and Certification System (TOECS) Level I in 2020, a recognised Starter by World Athletics, Oitebetse said she is in the process of taking another course which was a Level II (Bronze level course) to upgrade her officiating. 

“My dream is to rise to the epitome of athletics officiating,” she said, adding that it was important for the country to have representation in the world stage not only by athletes but also through officials of various sporting codes.

She said as the country is producing world class athletes, it must equally produce globally recognised officials. Oitebetse is also the secretary general of Women and Sports Botswana (WASBO), an advocacy organ for women and the girl children to actively participate in sport.

 She said women must be fully involved in sport. Oitebetse said her involvement in athletics was encouraged by great people in the sporting industry while at tertiary school, the likes of Glody Dube through the Botswana Tertiary Students Sport Association (BOTESSA) games. 

“I was never an athlete. I was a Sports Minister at tertiary school therefore I was roped into BOTESSA committee board,” she stated. ENDS