The Namibia Archery Federation (NAF) will host a competition from 15 to 16 June to select top archers to compete in the Region Five tournament later this year.
The competition will take place at the Walvis Bay Private School. Close to 100 archers are expected to converge at the coastal town to battle it out for the top spot.
Speaking to this publication yesterday, Poenie Weakley, the chairman of NAF, said preparations are at an advanced stage as invites were already sent out to all participating schools.
“This will be our seventh event for the year. We expect more participants, as this is a crucial event in terms of selecting players who will compete in Namibian, development and adult archery teams,” he said. The Region Five competition is slated for August, and will also feature countries such as Zambia, Zimbabwe, South Africa and Botswana.
According to the chairman, Namibia has shown dominance over the years, and wants to maintain this.
“We are going to have some of the best nations in Walvis Bay later this year. As a nation, we have in the past displayed dominance against giants such as South Africa, and would like to continue with our great performance. Thus, we are calling out to the best archers to come in numbers and compete at this tournament. The best-ranked archers will earn places in the team which will represent Namibia,” he said.
The national men’s reigning champion Burton Weakley shared his excitement for the upcoming tournament, despite the challenges that lie ahead of him.
“I have been preparing well, and I am ready and excited to go up against some of the countrys’ top archers. I am the champion and I know there are many archers eyeing my spot. But I am confident that I will retain the title and become the top-ranked archer in the men’s category. I know it won’t be easy, but I am equally ready to defend what is mine,” he said.