Namibia has fielded a team of 52 archers for the upcoming Region 5 tournament, scheduled to take place at Walvis Bay Private School from 22 to 24 August. The selected archers are divided into three teams: the Africa Genesis Archery (AGA) team, the development team, and the national team. Five countries will compete for top honours: Namibia (the host nation), South Africa, Botswana, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
The competition, which takes place every two years, was last hosted in 2021 when South Africa won the tournament. This year, the event is expected to be bigger and better, with more archers from the participating countries.
Speaking to this publication yesterday, Poenie Weakley, the chairman of the Namibia Archery Federation (NAF), said they anticipate stiff competition from the visiting nations. The competition will also serve as qualifiers for upcoming major events.
“We have high expectations, of course. It’s a continental tournament that attracts powerhouses, and so much is at stake in this competition, so archers need to focus. However, I believe we selected the best team possible, and I am positive that we can dominate, come 22 August. We have a good team with outstanding archers, so we expect nothing but victory,” he said.
Weakley also discussed the preparations and readiness of the archers, with less than 30 days to go before the much-anticipated tournament. “All archers are practising at school since most of them are school-going children. But I am positive that they are getting the much-needed training they deserve from their respective schools. We will have two major training events before the main tournament next month.”
South Africa is the current defending champion, and Namibia will be hoping to dethrone them this coming month. Weakley said, South Africa is one of the strongest teams, and Namibia will have to deliver their best performance to surpass them.
“We actually don’t underestimate the visitors. All the nations are equally strong and ready to compete, but I think the biggest stumbling block is South Africa. For us to get past them, we need to stay focused during the tournament, and I urge all our archers to bring their best performance possible,” he said.
Full Teams:
AGA Team: Johan Raes, Anja von Watzdorf, Alyssa van Zijl, Ronelle Raes, Paul van der Merwe, Alexander Abrahams, Jaco Jacobs, Charne Coetzee, Madelyn Kruger, Johann de Beer, Almarie van der Merwe, Angelika Mercker, Dehan von Watzdorf, Naude Kruger, Aiden van Aswegen, Berend Blom.
Development Team: Teresa Kasomba, Liam Vries, Luhan Bruwer, Christoph Schutz, Janu Coetzee, Cabren Hayward, Peter-James Fisher, Ru-Wayne Bezuidenhout, Adriaan Walters, Duan Kruger, Kian du Plessis, Jorine Krugel, Zayden Presleigh Arendse, Taylieschen Scott, Danika van Zijl, Shevun Jaarsak.
Reserves: Connor Burmeister-Nel, Jani de Beer.
National Team: Burton Weakley, Oliver Rothkegel, Tristan Dominick Sarel Jacobs, Jason Sergio Koch, Schalk Visser, Ashton Deryck Ntsamba, Marionette de Waal, Kayla von Wielligh, Fedaliz Basson, Willem van der Merwe, Thomas Strong, Werner Goseb, Petro Mostert, Anielka Hayward, Lee-Ann Job, Skyler Viviers.
Reserves: Liam Vries, Jorine Krugel.
-mkambukwe@nepc.com.na