NAMIB TIMES 35
22 AUGUST 2014
NBA announces teams for AST in Botswana The two bowling teams representing Namibia in this year's African States Tournament (AST), from 613 September in Iwaneng Botswana, have been selected after the qualifier in Windhoek earlier this month. The Namibian Bowling Association (NBA) announced the following members of the teams: Men: Will Esterhuizen, Douw Calitz, Steven Peake, Axel Krahenbuhl, David Gibbons. Manager: Dave Hutchins Women: Diana Viljoen, Sheena du Toit, Lesley Vermuelen, Anjuleen Viljoen, Marietjie Meyer. Manager: Avril Kotz Coach: Alexander Joubert. The teams aim to achieve more and
GRATEFUL: The Walvis Bay Kickboxing Club receiving their sponsorship for Destiny
Time for Destiny
Madelaine Lausbcher
The annual National Martial Arts/International Sports Karate Association (NMA/ ISKA) National championships, known as Destiny, will take place on 30 and 31 August in South Africa (SA) where members of the Walvis Bay Kickboxing Club will compete to kick their way to the top. Sensei Dorothy Bachmann and her team will be travelling to SA on 26 August and will return on 3 September. “We usually practise twice a week, but since the beginning of August we have been practicing daily for Destiny. Many of the competitors have only started off this year that will also be going along, as this is the only competition that gives them the exposure they need to shine. I have witnessed how kickboxing has changed the confidence of these candidates as well as their focus on life and respect towards one another because they have learned what strength of will it takes to reach the top. It also teaches these youngsters to stay out of trouble. Lastly, I have especially seen how the self-confidence in girls/women has improved,” she said. The candidates from the Walvis Bay Kickboxing Club that will be attending Destiny are: Beginner level: Timothy February (19) orange belt, Rainier Pretorius (16) orange belt and Natascha Sell (15) green belt. Novice level: Ryan Opperman (6) white belt, Nathan Opperman (7) yellow belt, Ewa Pertorius (50) white belt, Vicki Stiernelt (14) white belt, Christiaan Burger (18) yellow belt, Lee-Anne Kruger (19) white belt, Rachel vd Westhuizen (54) yellow belt, Macquillen Brussel (12) white belt, Loritta Simon (14) yellow belt and Jacobus Potgieter (15) yellow belt. Intermediate level: Ivonne Nitz (12) blue belt, Wolfgang Nitz (9) blue belt, Andy Basson (19) blue belt and Julian Müller (18) purple belt. Advanced level: Lesley Hoaeb (22) brown belt, Danie Bachmann (15) black belt, Oliver StauderBecker (17) brown belt, Dorothy Bachmann (42) black belt and Delano Müller (10) brown belt. Destiny is attended by teams from all over the world with an average attendance of about 1 200 competitors and several thousands of spectators. It is open to juniors and seniors of all ages and belt groups. Belt groups compete together under weight and age groups. Lower grades do not compete against higher grades. There are four divisions in general namely novice (white & yellow), beginner (orange & green), intermediate (blue & purple) and advanced (brown & black belt). Mrs Bachmann also mentioned that they have received a sponsor in order to make the trip possible for each and every candidate. 'We are forever grateful for this sponsor, as without the sponsorship and support these candidates would not have been able to attend Destiny as it is quite costly. Thank you so
much,” she said. A spokesperson of VIGO told the newspaper they have granted the Walvis Bay Kickboxing Club a sponsorship to the value of N$120 000 in order to make their participation at The Destiny Tournament in South Africa possible. “The Walvis Bay Kickboxing Club is one of two clubs currently in Namibia. The club is a non-profitable organisation with currently 40 members. The club has been running for nearly 3 years now and is very proud of the achievements thus far. Destiny is attended by approximately 1 200 competitors and 3000 spectators and through this sponsorship towards this club, VIGO aims at driving further brand awareness on the brand,” she said. There are divisions for points & continuous fighting, free style forms, weapons forms, traditional Kata & Kumite, self defence, breaking for juniors & seniors, high kick challenge, extreme kicking, submission GI & NO-GI grappling, tag team matches, sport MMA and sport full contact & ISKA full contact kickboxing which are for adults only. Destiny also has no contact competitive divisions such as high kick & breaking where there is no member against member fighting. It is an individual challenge division. The NMA/ISKA is well known for its safety laws and contact regulation. They do not allow excessive contact in either points or continuous divisions thus safety is not a concern. Destiny chooses official teams to compete at the annual ISKA World Champs in Orlando on all belt levels where a local student from the Dolphins School, Julian Müller from Walvis Bay, was ranked World Champion in his division earlier this year and was accompanied by his brother Delano Müller and Lesley Hoaeb who also made it through to the ISKA World Championships after doing exceptionally well at Destiny last year. Destiny gives opportunity to gain valuable international experience early on in a fighting career to gain experience. Official Provincial Teams are selected and present, but one has to qualify for provincial colours at the Provincial tournaments known as the CLASSICS, which takes place throughout SA. The tournament will take place at the Velodrome Cape Town Destiny is a full MASA and SASCOC sanctioned event and the NMA/ISKA is the only recognised organisation in SA that may award colours for Sport Martial Art divisions, Sport Grappling and Sport MMA divisions.
Junior Tri-Nations at Rosmund Golf Resort
The Junior Tri-Nations Golf tournament, held at the Rosmund Golf Resort and Lodge in Swakopmund this week, showcased the best junior golf talent in the three participating countries and saw spectators, players and visitors flock to the coastal resort this week. The game is played with 6 team members swinging over 72 holes within 3 days (18-21 August). The junior challenge intends to give an opportunity for the three nations to develop their top talent for more competitive golf at international level. The Zimbabwean defending champs dominated the field with the Namibian and Kenyan teams going head to head for second and third place. Zimbabwe's strength in golf has been well
accounted for with players as young as 13 taking part in last year's event, which was held in Zimbabwe. Next year's event will see young Namibian golfers travel to Kenya in the tournament which is held in the participating countries on a rotational basis. Namibia Junior Golf is a section under the Namibian Golf Federation that represents the Namibia Golf Union, Ladies Golf, Senior Golf, Namibia Sages, and the Namibia Professional Golf Association (NPGA).
Axel Krahenbuhl, this year's Champion of Champions in the men's division improve on last year's AST performance when the men's team took second place behind the dominant South Africans after the almost week-long tournament. The ladies ended up in 4th place.
Craven in Vuelta a España Omaruru born Dan Craven (31) will be Namibia's first cyclist to compete at the world-renowned Vuelta a España, held from 23 August to 19 September in Spain this year. The tour will see the best cyclists compete against each other with the likes of former Tour de France winners Christopher Froome and Alberto Contador amongst the field of riders. Craven and nine other international cyclists have been selected to ride in the Team Europcars peloton. Apart from Natnael Berhane, who hails from Eritrea, Craven will be the only other non-French rider in the peloton. Next to the Tour de France and Giro D'Italia, the Vuelta a España, covering a distance of over 3 240km, is considered one of the top three cycling races in the world. “The Vuelta is going to be at a much higher level this year than in the past few years, as several big riders got
Dan Craven in action during the Road Race at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow Picture contributed
injured during the Giro D'Italia and Tour de France and have now made it their season goal to win here. This makes it a very difficult proposition for me and I'm going in with expectations of having an extremely hard three weeks ahead of me,” Craven noted. “I probably won't be very visible as I'll be working for our team leaders behind the scenes. Besides getting Romain (Sicard) in the right place at the right time, my objective is obviously to get through the three weeks without a mishap.”