Pathetic Victims Of Our Past

SPORT is not only great in helping one maintain a healthy physique, but it can, at the same time, also be a lucrative career. In fact, top sportsmen and women are celebrities strutting their stuff on the global stage earning, in most cases, more income from endorsements than prize money.

Frank Fredericks remains our country’s best-known sport personality in paid ranks. In recent years, boxing has slowly but progressively attracted talent and numbers to make it a premier and exciting code for the youth. But then, barriers to entry for boxing are relatively low. All it requires is a pair of boxing gloves and a raw ability to hit hard and accurately. The manner in which we as Namibians have, however, elected to continue to live and play, reflect the divisions and fault lines of our past.The result is that we do not optimally apply all our skills and resources for national glory on the sports-field. It is this which accounts for the minuscule team we are dispatching to London for the Olympics later this year.The cost of paraphernalia required to participate in boxing, football, netball or sprint and road running items are relatively inexpensive juxtaposed to cricket, hockey, tennis, etc, creating an expense barrier in addition to the self imposed cultural barrier that these are not ‘our games’. So for the most part, Namibians are trapped in a self imposed mono-culture of sport handed down for generations.We are pathetic victims of the past and we are playing the game our erstwhile tormentors bequeathed us to play. We need to break out of this entrapment, for the stars represent the limitless possibilities there are. We must act in the truism of the idiom that the fact that our parents were bakers should not reduce us to baking bread. As our young people make choices about their future and careers, the possibility of making an honest and rewarding career from sport should not be excluded. Australia represents a veritable example of how sport has successfully been integrated as both a way of life and livelihood.For a country with a small population, our sportsmen and women have, in many respects, punched above their weight. They need more consistent and gainful support from society as a whole in order to turn their pursuits worthwhile and professional. Too often, the prize monies for Namibia’s sports people are almost insulting and unlikely to motivate a younger generation of sportsmen and women to elect to be professional sportspeople.There is simply not sufficient recognition for the effort that goes in preparing sportsmen and women for top class competitive sport. If even sport stadia are named after politicians without any known sporting prowess or accolades even the long-term incentive is missing.Yet sport, like other areas of life, must be an alternative for the youth as they make their difficult life choices. A Grade 12 pass is not and should not be the only rite of passage. There must be multiple measures of success, which include sport as one of these ladders to a better life. A society that defines its success simply in terms of academic and political prowess robs itself of valuable contribution from several sections of its population.Many sport codes, for example, swimming, rugby and athletics continue to perform well and win prizes and trophies on the continent and beyond. The case of cricket, which has made phenomenal stride, is exemplary as it is a relatively new code in our country. Our country is currently ranked the top T20 side and is only three places off an ICC full membership position. So it will very soon join the ranks of Test Cricket countries. For tens of thousands of children out there sports may indeed be their calling, which requires only but minimum investment and motivation to turn them professional. There are lessons to be learnt from the manner in which cricket administrators and coaches have steered the code. Archery is another shining example.Over and above this, there is a general sense in which we as Namibians need to cross the cultural/racial barriers at play and beyond. As Namibians, we continue to be victims of ‘rugby is a boer sport’ or ‘football is a pastime in Dolam’ mindset. In fact nothing could be further from the truth because these are both games invented by the British.So let’s encourage the young to go out and play, be merry, physically fit and make friends on the field of play. In this way there will be no need for racial bean counting every time a team runs out onto the field. I am aware that this robs the less talented of my colleagues of something to rant and rave about. But even they must sometimes learn to rise above jaundiced provincial interests.So the sterling achievements of Cricket Namibia must embolden us all and sent out the word the message that this small desert nation is ready to take on the best in the world. But this can only be achieved with the support of the fans, sponsors and investment by the government. This is true for all the codes. And it is in this spirit that we must wish our small team of sportsmen and women the very best as they prepare for the London Olympics.

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