National Inline Hockey trials

SEVERAL Namibian national inline hockey teams were selected following national trials at Swakopmund last weekend.

The Namibian Ice- and Inline Hockey Association (NIIHA) hosted the trials as part of its preparation for the World Championships of Inline Hockey that will be held in Colombia 2021 from the end of August through to early September.

Just over 70 players attended the trials and three teams were selected in the senior men, junior men and junior women categories.

Sean Lichti of the selection committee said they were excited about the talent on display.

“It was a good weekend, we are really excited about the new guys on the team and we are looking forward to getting back to work and showing the world what we can do.”

Namibia’s junior men’s team will aim to retain their position amongst the world’s top eight teams, while the senior men’s team will be competing for the first time in two years and will hope to keep gaining momentum.

But the talk of the weekend was Namibia sending its first junior women’s team in almost eight years.

Many of the junior women selected competed in 2019 at State Wars in the United States as part of the Namibian development program and played against many of the USA girls. The Namibian girls who were then 13 and 14 years old held their own against mostly 17 and 18 year olds and managed to win the silver medal in the girls division.

For all the junior women this will be the first time they attend a World Championship and everyone was nervous and excited. Corinna Weimann of the selection committee said: “Everyone’s nerves are a wreck, because we all want to make this team so badly. I am really proud of how hard our group played this weekend and I look forward to going to Colombia in 2021 and representing Namibia.”

This coming weekend NIIHA will host their development trials for ages 6 through to 13.

 

In an age of information overload, Sunrise is The Namibian’s morning briefing, delivered at 6h00 from Monday to Friday. It offers a curated rundown of the most important stories from the past 24 hours – occasionally with a light, witty touch. It’s an essential way to stay informed. Subscribe and join our newsletter community.