Waterski

The Namibia Waterski Federation (NWSF) recently received a singular honour when it was awarded the right to host the 2013 Under 21 Waterski and Wakeboarding World Championships, but the event could be in jeopardy if a long standing dispute is not settled soon.

At question is the issue of ownership of the Namibian Waterski Club since Tungeni Africa Investments, a Namibian-owned Black Economic Empowerment company signed a public-private partnership agreement with Namibia Wildlife Resorts (NWR) in July 2008, to manage the Von Bach Dam.

Namibian waterskiers excelled at the recent 2012 South African National Championships and All Africa Championships which took place at the Satellite Dam close to Pietermaritzburg, Kwazulu Natal over the Easter weekend.

Despite the weather conditions that were not very favourable for top performances, with intermittent winds causing choppy water and very challenging conditions, the skiers still managed to achieve excellent results.

Competing in the Open Men’s Division, Namibia’s top skier Luke Schmidt was crowned the All African champion after winning the overall gold medal.

Despite wet and windy weather conditions and a rising water level at the Von Bach Dam over the weekend, a very successful season for waterskiing in Namibia came to an end with the highlight on the calendar, the Namibian Nationals.

With an impressive  33 waterski entries and 18 wakeboarders it proved to be an event of a very high standard and Namibia has made its mark by combining Waterski with Wakeboarding in one championship.

The Stimorol National Open Water Ski Championships will be held from 25 to 27 March at the Von Bach Dam close to Okahandja.

The president of the Namibia Water Ski Association (NWSA), Martin Schmidt announced this at a press briefing in Windhoek on Wednesday.

“We expect at least 40 skiers and 20 wakeboarders to take part in this event as well as about 20 officials who will ratify all scores to the International Waterski and Wakeboard Federation (IWWF),” Schmidt said.

“We will also expect many supporters from both Namibia and South Africa to attend,” he added.

Namibian waterskiers excelled at the South African National Championships at the end of April, winning numerous gold medals against South Africa’s top skiers.

After hosting a very successful All African Championships at the Von Bach Dam at the beginning of April, a contingent of 11 Namibian skiers travelled across the border to take part in the South African National Championships held in Kakamas at the end of April.
The prestigious event took place on a privately owned lake on a wine farm on the banks of the Orange River.

South Africa were the overall winners at the All Africa Waterskiing Championships at the Von Bach Dam over the Easter weekend, winning the team event with 6 139,45 points, while Namibia came second with 4907,74 points. South Africa’s GJ Visser was the male All Africa champion in the slalom event, while compatriot Simon Fairbank was the male All Africa champion in the tricks and jumps events.

South Africa’s Leandra Le Forestier was the female All Africa champion in the slalom and tricks events.

Meike Rubbow and Volker Schulz set new Namibian records in the slalom competition in the open women en senior men II divisions respectively at the Hollard Namibia National Waterski Championships over the weekend. The competition, which was well organised and took place in perfect weather conditions, saw nine junior personal best performances being achieved.

Kai Brockmann, Kyron Sprake, Jana Kiesewetter, Jolynde Aucamp, Jeane Kamfer, Devon Sprake, Sylvia Schmidt, Marco Kiesewetter and Wico Coetzee all established new personal best performances.

The Namibia Waterski Federation is hosting the 2009 Hollard National Waterski Championships at the Von Bach dam from 20 to 22 March. Participants from Namibia and South Africa are going to compete in Slalom, Trick and Jump competitions starting early Friday morning.

Since 1990 the sport has become very active internationally and we highlight a few of the achievements:

1991- Andre Mostert attended the World Championships in Villach, Austria.

1992- Three dolphin skiers represented Namibia in the Junior European Championships.

Namibiaâ??s Gary Knight proved that he is back to his best by winning the Menâ??s Open category at the All Africa Waterski Championships at the Von Bach Dam on April 16, 2006.
Knight won two of the three disciplines to win the title with an overall score of 1 654,04 points, ahead of South Africaâ??s Simon Fairbank whoâ??s overall score was 1 540,94.

Namibiaâ??s Gary Knight overcame heavy odds and a determined challenge by South Africaâ??s Simon Fairbanks to win the Open Menâ??s category at the Namibian Waterski Championships on April 14, 2006.