NSC

The Namibia Sport Commission and its former chief administrator Rusten Mogane have officially parted ways with effect from April 1 this year.

Addressing a press conference on Thursday, the chairperson of the NSC Vivienne Katjiuongua said that an independent investigation into the matter had found that there were indeed irregularities during Mogane’s tenure at the NSC, but that the NSC had decided not to pursue the matter.

Agnes Tjongarero was re-elected as president of the Namibia National Olympic Committee at its annual general meeting on Friday.

Tjongarero, who has led the organisation for more than a decade, was elected unopposed to the position.

Also elected unopposed to the body were Joan Smit, who takes over as secretary general from Abner Xoagub; Monica Dahl, as treasurer of the NNOC; and Gaby Ahrens who comes in as the athletes’ representative on the NNOC board.

Johanna Benson was the big winner at the MTC NSC Namibia Sport Awards on Friday night, walking away with N$35 000 after winning the Achiever of the Year award as well as the Disabled Sportswoman of the Year award.

Benson was crowned for her exceptional performances at the 2012 Paralympic Games where she won a gold medal in the Women’s T37 200m and a silver medal in the T37 100m.

Benson received N$20 000 for the Achiever of the Year award and N$15 000 for the Disabled Sportswoman of the Year award.

The Namibia Sports Commission and MTC on Wednesday finally made a statement regarding the Johanna Benson saga when they supported the view that the Sportswoman and Disabled Sportswoman of the Year categories should be separated.

The chairperson of the NSC, Vivienne Katjiuongua said that they had able awards and disabled awards to give equal recognition to all athletes. The Sportswoman of the Year award represents all able bodied sportswomen and the Disabled Sportswoman of the Year award represents disabled sportswomen.

The Namibia National Olympic Committee on Wednesday launched it’s Strategic Plan for the quadrennial 2013 - 2016, leading up to the Rio Olympic Games.

The Strategic Plan is encapsulated in an eight-page brochure that includes the NNOC’s vision, its role, its strategic focus areas, key performance indicators and its organisational structure, amongst others.

The finalists for the MTC Namibia Sport Awards were announced at a press conference at the Namibia Sport Commission headquarters on Wednesday morning.

Boxing once again featured prominently with three boxers amongst the six finalists in the Sportsman of the Year category, while they also had finalists in the Coach of the Year and Umpire of the Year categories.

Athletics also featured prominently with three athletes amongst the Sportswoman of the Year, while they also had finalists in the Junior Sportswoman, Most Improved Sports person, and Coach of the Year categories.

The National Sport Conference that was scheduled to take place next week has once again been postponed.

The Director of Sport in the Ministry of Youth, National Service, Sport and Culture Dr Vetumbuavi Veii told a press conference on Tuesday that the conference had been postponed because they had not informed the Namibian cabinet and therefore had not received its backing for the conference.

Rugby player Jacques Burger and marathon runner Helalia Johannes won the Namibian Sportsman and Sportswoman of the Year awards at a function in Windhoek on Friday night.

Burger had a great year, helping his English club Saracens win the English Premiership, while he also starred for Namibia at the Rugby World Cup.

Although Namibia lost all their matches, they won respect and admiration for their courageous efforts. Burger was their standout player, leading by example with his high work rate and tremendous tackles.

The 2011 Namibia Sport Awards was launched on Monday when the finalists for the various categories were announced at a press conference at the Namibia Sport Commission’s offices.

Namibia Sport Commissioner Piet du Plooy said the Namibia Sport Awards will be held on November 4 at the Safari Court Hotel where the winners in the various categories will be announced.

“There have been a lot of outstanding achievements this year and the main purpose will be to give recognition to our sportsmen and women at the Sport Awards function,” he said.

Namibia’s leading cellphone company MTC on Thursday announced an annual sponsorship of N$15,35 million to Namibian sport for the 2011/12 financial year.

MTC’s sponsorship manager Isack Hamata said that they will only sponsor three sport codes for the coming year, namely soccer, rugby and cricket.

They will sponsor the Namibian Premier League to an amount of N$10,6 million; Cricket namibia to an amount of N$2,5 million and the Namibia Rugby Union to an amount of N$2,25 million.