The Northern and Western Zones gave the Central zone a good run for their money in the first Interzone Artistic Gymnastics team competition organised and hosted by Excelsior Gymnastics Club on Thursday. Spectators were treated to some of the best quality gymnastics at junior level in Namibia.
In the Men's Artistic Level One competition the Northern Zone beat Central Zone with the slimmest of margins with a total team score of 142.20 points against the 142 of the Central Zone team.
In the Level Two competition the Central Zone team was able to turn the tables and came out as victors beating the Northern Zone team with a total team score of 164.70 against 158.85. The Western Zone team came third with a respectable score of 106.10. The Level 3 Central Zone team dominated their opposition and put together a total team score of 112.60 against the 102.20 of the Western Zone team coming second and the Northern Zone team third.
On the Women's Artistic side, the Level One Central Zone team proved to be too strong an opponent for the other two zones. The West came in second with a total score of 137.08 with the North in a close third on 133.90 points. In the Level Two competition, the Western Zone team coached by Josephine Sticht managed to show the Central Zone team a thing or two and won with a total team score of 139.13 against the 137.18 of the Central Zone and 130.90 of the Northern Zone. The Level Three competition was won by the Central Zone team with a team total of 141.38, with the Western Zone second on 137.98 and the Northern Zone third on 119.73.
This event was a pilot to test the viability of such competitions to present gymnasts with the opportunity of increased participation in competitions as well as competition formats that are different to the normal club competitions they are used to. The opinion of both the presidents of the WAG and MAG after the competition was that it was a resounding success and with a number of lessons learned from this first event, planning for future similar events can already start with refining the competition format.
“With the sustained growth in gymnasts’ numbers over the recent past and the positive outcomes from these new competitions it is clear that, not only the various sections within the Namibia Gymnastics Federation, but also the NGF itself is busy developing gymnastics in Namibia to become a showpiece of Namibian sports,” said Fanie Oosthuizen, vice president of the NGF.
The complete results can be viewed at www.excelsiorgymnastics.com.na