WALVIS BAY – Members of the bowls squad that will compete in the upcoming Atlantic Championships in Cardiff, Wales during May this year are hard at work on the bowling greens and the fundraising front.
The Atlantic Championships tournament serves as qualifying event for World Bowls and in years Namibia has never failed to qualify for World Bowls, so this is a very important event on the bowls calendar.
As a precursor to the Atlantic Championships, Welsh Bowls last year hosted a ten-nations event to which Namibia was invited. The national men’s team participated at this particular tourney and brought home a bronze medal.
Training is in full swing both in Windhoek and at the coast and the national league has also started, which means squad members are getting much-needed match practice.
Bowlers selected to play for Namibia can expect very little funding and are obliged to cough up the costs themselves and to assist in reducing costs, the squad has launched a raffle, with some great prizes to be won.
In addition to the raffle, the Namibia Bowling Association (NBA) is also planning to stage a corporate league, to run over three consecutive Thursday evenings hosted by the three clubs in Windhoek.
This should be an exciting event, as people love playing in these competitions. Companies also use these events as a team-building exercise. Sometimes interest in bowls is sparked and the NBA may attract new members.
The NBA is requesting interested parties to participate in this mini-league to enter a team. The league starts on March 14 with the finals slated for April 4. The cost per team is N$2 500. Anyone who is interested must contact the secretary of the NBA at namibiabowls@gmail.com
Team members are: Men – Will Esterhuizen, Gedion (Piet) Appollis (yes, his name is Gedion, not Gideon), Cabous Olivier, Johan Jacobs and Graham Snyman. Ladies – Diana Viljoen, Bianca Lewis, Amanda Steenkamp, Elzaan de Vries and Anjuleen Viljoen.