THE fulfilment of a dream has come true for many Namibian Inline Hockey players who will be participating at international level for the first time, while others who have already competed at international level will once again have a chance to test their skills against the world’s best.
Two NIIHA (Namibia Ice and Inline Hockey Association) national teams will be participating at the FIRS 2016 World Inline Hockey Championships in Italy, which takes place in two Italian neighbouring towns, Asiago and Roana, from 12 to 25 June 2016.
There will be four divisions, namely Junior Men, Junior Women, Senior Men and Senior Women, but Namibia will only two teams to participate in the Junior Men and the Senior Women divisions. These matches will take place from the 11 to 17 June with Namibia’s junior men mostly playing on the rink in Roana and the senior women in Asiago.
A record number of 17 national teams have entered the Senior Women’s Division, and with the return of Canada and France, the competitive level will be very high.
In the Senior Women’s competition, Namibia will compete in Pool C against Spain, India and Great Britain.
Sweden, Canada, Switzerland, Chinese Taipei and the Czech Republic will compete in Pool A; the United States, New Zealand and Australia will compete in Pool B; and Italy, Finland, Iran and Latvia will compete in Pool D.
The Junior Men’s Division consists of 18 national teams with some new entrants joining some established and experienced teams.
Namibia will compete in Pool A along with the Czech Republic, Colombia, Canada and Slovenia.
France, Mexico, Chinese Taipei, Latvia and Sweden will compete in Pool B; Italy, Switzerland, Germany and Korea will compete in Pool C; and the United States, Spain, Great Britain and India will compete in Pool D.
The Hodegart Asiago Arena, built in 1977, can host over 2 200 spectators, while the newly enlarged Roana Pala Robaan can host 1 300 spectators.
Live streaming of most games will be broadcast on http://firs.rollersports.tv/live.
The first games for Namibia’s two teams will be on Sunday, 12 June with the junior men playing Colombia at 10h10 and the Czech Republic at 16h50; and the senior women playing Spain at 14h10.
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