Sarty closes in on Rio Olympics

Namibia’s only Fiba certified female referee Sarty Nghixulifwa is on the verge of realising her life-long dream of officiating at the Olympic Games.

Nghixulifwa has been shortlisted for the International Basketball Federation ‘s Olympic Test Event in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil early next year and hopes to make the final cut for the games in August.

“Technically I have not been selected to the Olympic Games yet. I will be going to Rio for the test event, which is a step closer to the real thing, so I pray I will get selected once the test event goes well,” Nghixulifwa told The Namibian Sport in an exclusive interview.

The ambitious official is proud of her achievements, which she attributes to hard work and perseverance.

“I am still working very hard everyday. The sky is not the limit for me, so I do not know what will happen after and if I make it to the Olympics. It would be my ultimate dream come true (to officiate at the Olympics),” she said.

Based in Austria, Nghixulifwa ‘s stock has been on the rise since embarking on her quest to get a Fiba International Referees License five years ago.

Having obtained the coveted license, and given her passion and drive, she has gone on to receive numerous international assignments.

Nghixulifwa ‘s first notable international undertaking was at the African Champions Cup in December 2013, followed by the Fiba under-17 women ‘s world championships in 2014 where the highlight was taking charge of the semi-final clash between USA and Hungary.

The competition took place in Klatovy and Pilsen, Czech Republic from 28 June to 6 July.

“This was a big step for me because at world championship level, even under-17, the skills are pretty high. I was with people from all over the world and I learnt so much. It came as a shock to me because by then I was only a Fiba official for one year. I was expecting to get more tournaments in Africa before I was recognised in the world,” said the 31-year-old.

The under-17 world championships took place in Czech Republic between June and July. A brief sojourn back home, where she also refereed a few games, was followed by an invitation to the AfroBasket u18 women ‘s tournament in Egypt for end of September, which she declined “due to unforeseen circumstances” but soon after, she was on her way to the Fiba Women ‘s Club Championships in Tunisia at the back end of last year.

“I had the chance to officiate another semi final which was amazing. It was the home team versus a club from Nigeria. The competition was very high and the atmosphere was vibrant,” said Nghixulifwa, whose primary distractions remain in the men ‘s second division and other lower tiers in Austria.

“Currently, I am on the list of potentials for the first division men ‘s league in Austria, of which I have already had three games,” she added.

This year began in similar fashion to the previous year ‘s breakthrough adventures for the globetrotting official. She received a second world championship nomination, this time to officiate at u19 level for women. The tournament took place in Russia in July.

“This was an amazing experience all together and I got to meet three of my colleagues from the under-17 world championships. In a nutshell, I learned a lot at this tournament,” she narrated.

“I was improving everyday because of the pressure. I managed to surprise everybody, when I was given the small final game (also known as the bronze medal match). This was a very good game (between Australia and Spain). My supervisors told me that I took my skill to another level, showing that I have a lot of potential with the confidence I am showing,” added the former Tomahawks captain.

After the games in Moscow, Nghixulifwa flew straight to Los Angeles, USA to attend the Special Olympic World Games, where her compatriot Ruben Gowaseb won gold in the half-marathon road race.

Her nomination was seconded by current Disability Sport Namibia president Charles Nyambe, her mentor.

“I made it as the first female in Africa to officiate at these games. This was an experience I will never forget. Namibia also took part in these Games and they played very well,” she said.

Her performance saw another two nominations come her way. One was to represent Namibia as a neutral referee at the AfroBasket Championship for women in Cameroon later this month and the other was to be a part of the Olympic test event in Rio from in preparation for the Olympic Games.

Nghixulifwa credits the Namibian Basketball Federation, Ndeulipula Hamutumwa, Nyambe and former national sport director Vetumbuavi Veii for her success.

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