Nairobi
Decorated with 2 gold, 3 silver and 1 bronze medal the Icestocksport Association of Namibia (IAN) returns recently back from the 6th edition of the Africa Cup held in Nairobi/Kenya.
Icestock sport is similar to curling or roll ball and is the only winter sport actively played in Namibia. The sport also featured in the Winter Olympic Games demonstration programme in 1936 and 1964.
During the last two years, the Icestocksport Association managed to develop the sport in different regions, including the Erongo and Kharas regions.
The Africa Cup consists of a team competition (men and women), as well as a singles competition. The men’s team, which already won the championship in three consecutive editions from 2005 to 2009 started off by giving away the first two out of 11 rounds, but the team under Captain Detlef Pfeifer won all subsequent rounds.
The technical and tactical superiority of the Namibian team impressed the defending champions from Kenya and can be seen by the final results of 12:4 (157:59 points).
The newly formed women’s team from Swakopmund could balance the first six rounds. But after an injury from one of the ladies, the team lost track and had to pay for their inexperience in international competition and the hot weather conditions. With a final result of 12:6 (165:85) the Namibian women’s team, which won in 2013, had to give the title to the Kenyans.
A reverse reflection of the team competition was the results of the technical sophisticated discipline, the single target shooting. Defending Africa Cup Champion Steven Ng’ang‘a came first, with 129 points in front of silver medal winner Detlef Pfeifer from Windhoek Bowling Club (111), followed by his teammate, Armin Komma from SFC Swakopmund (106 points).
The ladies’ single competition started with a bang as Christiane Beulker of SFC Swakopmund set a new competition record. In her first international competition Beulker managed to break the record of 2013 champion Corne Harmse (Cazadores) with 88 points. The good result was complimented by her teammate Natalia Stone, also of SFC Swakopmund, who won silver (68 points).
The president of the International Federation of Icestocksport acknowledged the improvement of Icestocksport in Africa, noting that the presence of young players on the Kenyan side could enhance Icestock on the continent.
In this context, the IAN is proud to announce the implementation of the first Junior Championship in Keetmanshoop on October 10. Up to 25 Players (under 23 years of age) from four different clubs will compete for the title in two disciplines.