Maurice Kambukwe

WINDHOEK – This year’s edition of the much-anticipated Debmarine Namibia Senior Regional Netball Championship will officially kick off this weekend at the Khomasdal Stadium netball courts in Windhoek, with proceedings starting Friday until Saturday.

The Debmarine Namibia-sponsored netball regional championship was initiated in 2017 by local governing body Netball Namibia (NN) with the financial assistance of Debmarine. Khomas Region, which will again host the championship, won the 2017 and 2018 editions of the tournament and will again be defending their title this weekend.

Speaking to New Era Sport yesterday, NN vice-president Rebecca Goagoses said this year’s competition will be used primarily to scout fresh talent for the national team which is set to participate in the African Championships games.

“This tournament was actually formed to identify and nurture talent from all our 14 regions. And also, it gives a very important platform to our local coaches to test themselves in a highly competitive environment and the same testing also goes for our umpires,” said Goagoses.

“But now that we as Netball Namibia are satisfied with the standards of our coaches and umpires, we have decided to use this year’s edition to primarily scout fresh talent for the national team as we know the team will soon be partaking in various competitions, so this weekend’s regional championships will act as a supplement to look out for talent for the national team.”

Goagoses urged all netball fanatics to come out in large numbers at the Khomasdal Stadium netball courts and rally behind their respective regions.

“I’m calling all netball lovers in Windhoek and surrounding areas to make their way to Khomasdal Stadium this weekend to come witness a day full of exciting netball action. Entrance is free, they must just come support the teams,” urged Goagoses.