Sport Awards
Namibiaâ??s sportsmen and women will be honoured at the annual Namibia Sport Awards function, which takes place at the Safari Hotel tonight.
Various winners will be announced, from the Sportsman and Woman of the Year to the Junior Sportsman and woman, the Most Improved Sports person, the Senior and Junior sport teams of the year, the Coach and Administrator of the Year, the Best Development Programme of the Year and the Sport Achiever of the Year.
Some of the early favourites include boxer Japhet Uutoni for Sportsman of the Year, athlete Helaria Johannes for Sportswoman of the Year and boxer Paulus Moses for Sport Achiever of the Year. But the awards have sprung up many surprises in the past and this year should be no different.
Rugby
Itâ??s the big one tomorrow â?? Namibia take on Morocco in the first leg of a World Cup qualifier to determine who will go to the 2007 Rugby World Cup.
The two teams meet again in Casablanca on November 11, and the aggregate winner will qualify for the 2007 Rugby World Cup in France, along with South Africa, from the African continent.
Namibia will have to establish a sizeable lead on their home ground, but coach Johan Venter sounds positive ahead of the big match. Namibia will field a full-strength side including professional players like Kees Lensing, Heino Senekal and Jacques Burger and with a big crowd expected at the Hage Geingob Stadium, they will be expected to win handsomely.
However, the Moroccans will be tough opponents â?? the last time the two teams met in Windhoek, Namibia won a bloody and physical encounter 39-22 in November 2004 to win the African Confederation of Rugby Cup. Once again a tough, physical encounter can be expected â?? make sure you are at the Hage Geingob Rugby Stadium at 17h00 on Saturday to support Namibia.
Motocross
The highlight of the motocross calendar, the Inter Series event takes place at the Gallina Race Track, about 15km outside Windhoek on the Okahandja Road.
Riders from Germany, The Netherlands, USA, Botswana, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Angola and of course host country Namibia will line up at the start of this action-packed event.
There will be some favourites like Dewalt van der Berg (South Africa), Mart de Jong (The Netherlands) and Benny Kolberg (Germany), but this time they will have to contend with a top female rider, the multiple World Champion Stephanie Laier from Germany. For the first time on the African continent we can witness how she fares versus her male competitors!
At about 19h00 fathers, helpers and mechanics will jump on their bikes for the Winston pit-bike clash. And later in the evening as the special for the 10th anniversary of the Air Namibia Inter-Series, the Tafel Lager Battle of the Bands will take place with some of the best musicians and bands Namibia has to offer: Sense Unknown, Dylanâ??s Jam Band, Mojo Blues Electric Band and the Windhoek Moto Cross Club will also present the winners of the Namibian Music Awards 2006â?¦Penilane!
Swimming
The first schools gala of the swimming season takes place at the Olympia Swimming Pool this weekend. The first session is between 14h00 and 18h00 today and the second session runs from 08h00 to 14h00 tomorrow.
Gymnastics
Walvis Bay Gymnastics Club will host the rhythmic gymnastics as well as trampoline and tumbling national competition this weekend.
The competition, sponsored by Coca Cola, will attract about 280 gymnasts from all rhythmic and trampoline clubs in Namibia. Spectators will be able to see all top gymnasts performing their routines over the two days.
The rhythmic competition starts at 12h00 today and will continue until Saturday afternoon. The trampoline and tumbling competition will commence on Saturday morning and the final prizegiving for both competitions takes place after the conclusion of both competitions on Saturday.
Well, its quite a hectic programme, so make sure you catch some of the sporting action in Namibia!