Sam Kaulinge was elected as the new president of the Namibia Tennis Association at its annual general meeting on Saturday, following the resignation of Bob Mould.
Mould’s term came to an end after he served as NTA president for 10 years. He served five two-year terms, but in terms of the Sport Act, had to step down at the end of ten years.
Kaulinge, who was the vice president of the NTA, will now serve for a two-year term as president.
At his election, Kaulinge said the most important task would be to take tennis to all corners of Namibia and to make it accessible to all Namibians.
“Our main challenge will be to make sure that more youths take up tennis and to make it accessible to all Namibians. We need to keep up the good work of Bob Mould and we need to promote and market tennis. Unfortunately some people see it as an elitist sport, but we should be able to change that perception,” he said.
Kaulinge said it was important to get sponsorships so that the NTA could run its programmes, as well as securing a principal sponsor.
“Our long term challenge will be to secure a principal sponsor for the NTA so that we can brand tennis in Namibia. I’m confident that with the support of the new committee, we will be able to take tennis forward in Namibia,” he said.
Kaulinge highlighted some of the achievements of the past five years which include getting FNB Namibia on board as the principal sponsor of the NTA’s development programme.
Through this sponsorship the NTA has been able to run various programmes, including regular training sessions at selected schools; schools tennis leagues in Windhoek and Rehoboth; training courses throughout Namibia; the participation of development juniors in national and international tournaments; and the establishment of the Namibia Tennis Training Centre for promising juniors who lack the support and resources to play at a competitive level.
Kaulinge said some of his short term aims include developing a marketing plan to increase NTA membership and funding; the successful organisation of of Namibian teams to compete in the David Cup and the Fed Cup; the hosting of international ITF junior tournaments; and the drafting of a Tennis Professional Career Path Development Plan for junior development players.
The rest of the executive committee which was elected is as follows:
Leon Hemmes (treasurer and veteran tennis), Kallie Heese (development), Herman Kuschke (senior tennis), Johan Theron (junior tennis), Norman Makuwaza (officiating), Ruhan du Rand (coaching), Robert Riethmueller (league and media) and Rose Jacobs (fund raising).
