Africa-Press – Namibia. AN exciting new addition on the Namibian hockey calendar was announced on Thursday evening with the launch of the Standard Bank Buy a Brick Hockey Champions League.
The Champions League will initially be held towards the end of February next year with an indoor league competition, but future outdoor leagues are also envisaged. It will not see Namibia’s regular clubs in action, but new teams that were selected during a draft at Thursday’s launch.
The organiser of the league, Nevil Gora of Beyond Sports Tours and Events Namibia said they looked at a new way to select teams. “As a hockey nation we are at a place now where hockey is on the rise, and Standard Bank is empowering hockey to grow, so we looked at how we can start uniting clubs and for different players to compete together.
“At the moment we have two or three clubs that are really strong but the rest are lagging behind, so if we want hockey to be more competitive, we need to even the playing field. So we came up with a plan to bring clubs together in a different way by staging a draft where we selected new teams,” he said.
“The draft was very random and we didn’t know who will be in what team, but I think on the whole the teams are very evenly matched out,” he added.
The teams have been named after shack areas around Windhoek, Gobabis, Okahandja and Swakopmund, to tie in with Standard Bank’s Buy a Brick fund raising initiative to raise funds for the construction of houses for members of the Shack Dwellers Federation of Namibia (SDFN).
The SDFN is a community-based network of housing saving schemes, aiming to improve the living conditions or urban and rural poor, while promoting women’s participation.
“Through this initiative we will support more people who live in shacks to be in a position to actually stay in a house,” Gora said.
“Through the Buy a Brick initiative, Standard Bank raises funds by selling socks, to help people build houses. They have already been selling socks at hockey events like the Mini World Cup, so now we will continue with that trend, and we are planning more events where we can do this in future,” he added.
Sindano Nekundi of Standard Bank Namibia announced a sponsorship of N$80 000 for the inaugural Hockey Champions League, saying they were proud to be a sponsor of an event that will have a positive impact on the community.
“The Hockey Champions League is indoor and outdoor league will be displaying the best hockey talents that the country has on offer and provides a platform for coaches to nurture talent, for the youth to hone their skills and for players to experience the challenges and thrills that come with playing the team sport.
“This sponsorship is our way of helping people in sports to find our purpose and when Namibians discover their purpose they deliver results. With this, the league will also have a charitable arm in that its efforts are tied to raising funds to be used to plough back into Namibian communities,” he added.
The men’s teams that were selected at the draft on Thursday are as follows: DRC: Alex Kurangera, Brandon Lensen, Dian La Cock, Gerhard Myburgh, Julian Schütz, Jack Fourie, Kave Tjikuniva, Matthew Mouton, Michael Kotze, Owen Hatton and Paulus Filipus. Coach: Johan Weyhe.
Havana: Robin Kambinda, Anton Myburgh, Darren Enslin, Dylan Barnard, Epafras Tunomwameni, Ernest Jacobs, Hilton Lima, Jason Bolton, Kieran Christ, Kevin Barnard, Percy Barthram. Coach: Sedric Makati.
Kanaan: Richter van Rooyen, Baggio Karigub, Dylan Finch, Giovani Handura, Ian Lottering, Kadhila Shigwedha, Nico Jacobs, Sima Sima, Dewald la Grange, Richard Slammet, Wietz Meyer. Coach: Coenie Fourie. Twaloloka:
DJ Strauss, Andre Lensen, Brynn Cleak, Christiaan du Raan, Christopher DÁlton, Delron Handura, Hanganeni Shigwedha, Matuu Kavikairiua, Nicolai Hilbert, Thomas Theron, Vialli Visagie. Coach: Luke Pennefather.
Women’s teams: DRC: Jaime Henckert, Armin van Staden, Anthea Coetzee, Caitlin Gillies, Charlize Rix, Fenestha Pienaar, Ina Louis, Jordan Hatton-Jones, Jaime Gillies and Xena Martins. Coach: Maryke Short.
Havana: Maxi Smith, Azaylee Philander, Adore Meyer, Cele Wessels, Gina Olles, Haylee Schickerling, Isabella Do Cormo, Jocelle Wessels, Onique Bezuidenhout, Wiandri Ludwig. Coach: Bianca Rheeder.
Kanaan: Andrea Rakow, Britta Haensel, Carisma Hyman, Caitlin Coetzer, Jana Grove, Keba Semedo, Marcia van Zyl, Maggy Mengo, Sunelle Ludwig, Sascha Brinkmann. Coach: Randy Slabbert.
Twaloloka: Berencia Diamond, Brenda Liman, Danja Meyer, Jerrica Bartlett, Jivanka Kruger, Kaytlin Leff, Kerrin Gillies, Tara Myburgh, Tisha Semedo, Vanessa Schoeman. Coach: Melissa Gillies.
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