{"id":100630,"date":"2026-04-10T12:41:38","date_gmt":"2026-04-10T12:41:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/namibia-crowned-all-africa-water-ski-champions"},"modified":"2026-04-10T12:58:23","modified_gmt":"2026-04-10T12:58:23","slug":"namibia-crowned-all-africa-water-ski-champions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/namibia-crowned-all-africa-water-ski-champions","title":{"rendered":"Namibia crowned All Africa Water Ski champions"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Namibia. <\/strong><\/span>Namibia made history by winning the overall title at the All Africa Water Ski Championships, hosted at Von Bach Dam, breaking a 30-year streak and outperforming South Africa.<\/b><\/p>\n

In a statement, the Namibia Water Ski Association says that, for the first time in the history of the All Africa Championships \u2013 dating back to the mid-1990s \u2013 Namibia has emerged as the overall \u2018best team.\u2019<\/p>\n

The Namibian squad secured 13 428.24 points, finishing ahead of a very strong South African team, which recorded 12 837.67 points.<\/p>\n

The statement says each nation fielded its top athletes to contribute to a collective team score. It adds that the scores are a true test of versatility, calculated by comparing slalom, trick, and jump results against international benchmarks.<\/p>\n

The association says for the first time in 16-years, Namibia proudly hosted the biennial All Africa Championships on home water.<\/p>\n

The competition drew an international field of athletes from South Africa, Morocco, Belgium, and the United States. Alongside a formidable Namibian contingent, competitors ranged in age from eight to over 65, highlighting the sport\u2019s diversity.<\/p>\n

\u201cImmense effort went into ensuring that every element, from the ski courses and technical equipment to the judging panels and boat crews, met the highest international standards,\u201d the statement reads.<\/p>\n

\u201cFollowing years of drought, the local community successfully repaired and recommissioned the jump ramp. Its return marked the restoration of the jump event, officially elevating these championships to a full \u2018three-event\u2019 competition once again.\u201d<\/p>\n

The association says the triumph of these championships is a result of the unwavering commitment from sponsors and their vital contribution to the sport in Namibia.<\/p>\n

Over the three days of high-intensity action, 46 competitors pushed their limits, resulting in a wave of personal bests and shattered records.<\/p>\n

The standout performance came from Morocco\u2019s Kamil Belmrah, who set a new All African Championship record in the open men slalom division, with an elite score of three buoys at 58 km\/h on a 10.75m line.<\/p>\n

Local talent also reached new heights. Ned Hannam broke the Namibian record in the under 10 boys\u2019 trick division with a score of 900 points, while Gary Knight delivered a record-breaking performance in the over 45 men\u2019s division, setting a new Namibian jump record of 26.4m.<\/p>\n

Namibian athletes awarded national sport colours: Gero Knupp (athlete and team captain) Nikolai Heger (athlete), Dieter Kebbel (athlete and team coach), Cornelia Kebbel (scorer, S2), Martin Schmidt (team manager and driver, D1).<\/p>\n

All African Champions (International Waterski and Wakeboard Federation (IWWF) medals)<\/p>\n

The title of All African champion is awarded to the top-performing male and female athletes in each event, regardless of their age division.<\/p>\n

The following skiers earned official medals from the IWWF.<\/p>\n

Slalom ladies: gold: Angela Swain (SA), silver: Catherine Versfeld (SA), bronze: Zandria van der Merwe (Nam).<\/p>\n

Slalom men: gold: Belmrah (Mar), silver: Simon Fairbank (SA), bronze: Robbie Alexander (SA).<\/p>\n

Tricks ladies: gold: Swain (SA), silver: Hannah de Jongh (SA), bronze: Mila Knight (Nam).<\/p>\n

Tricks men: gold: Dennis de Jongh (SA), silver: Luke Schmidt (Nam), bronze: Fairbank (SA).<\/p>\n

Jump ladies: gold: Van der Merwe (Nam), silver: Adore Dreyer (Nam).<\/p>\n

Jump men: gold: Fairbank (SA), silver: Heger (Nam) | Bronze: Gary Knight (Nam).<\/p>\n

Overall ladies: gold: Van der Merwe (Nam).<\/p>\n

Overall men: gold: Fairbank (SA), silver: Kebbel (Nam), bronze: Nikolai Heger (Nam).<\/p>\n

Van der Merwe (Nam) and Fairbank (SA) took the title of overall All Africa champions.<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Namibia<\/span> Follow Africa-Press<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Namibia. Namibia made history by winning the overall title at the All Africa Water Ski Championships, hosted at Von Bach Dam, breaking a 30-year streak and outperforming South Africa. In a statement, the Namibia Water Ski Association says that, for the first time in the history of the All Africa Championships \u2013 dating […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":100629,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,17],"tags":[233],"class_list":["post-100630","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-sport","tag-namibia"],"yoast_head":"\nNamibia crowned All Africa Water Ski champions - Namibia<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Namibia made history by winning the overall title at the All Africa Water Ski Championships, hosted at Von Bach Dam, ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/namibia-crowned-all-africa-water-ski-champions\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Namibia crowned All Africa Water Ski champions\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Namibia made history by winning the overall title at the All Africa Water Ski Championships, hosted at Von Bach Dam, ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/namibia-crowned-all-africa-water-ski-champions\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Namibia\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-04-10T12:41:38+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-04-10T12:58:23+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/nambia\/sites\/29\/2026\/04\/sm_1775813144.374599.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1024\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"683\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/namibia-crowned-all-africa-water-ski-champions#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/namibia-crowned-all-africa-water-ski-champions\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Namibia crowned All Africa Water Ski champions\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-04-10T12:41:38+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-04-10T12:58:23+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/namibia-crowned-all-africa-water-ski-champions\"},\"wordCount\":573,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/namibia-crowned-all-africa-water-ski-champions#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/nambia\/sites\/29\/2026\/04\/sm_1775813144.374599.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"namibia\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"sport\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/namibia-crowned-all-africa-water-ski-champions#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/namibia-crowned-all-africa-water-ski-champions\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/namibia\/all-news\/namibia-crowned-all-africa-water-ski-champions\",\"name\":\"Namibia crowned All Africa Water Ski champions - 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