Shifeta praises corporate support

DEPUTY Minister of Sport Pohamba Shifeta has applauded private firms that endorse sport in the country.

Shifeta, speaking at the the annual Old Mutual Victory Races Series on Monday, said their investment was adding value to the socio-economic development in Namibia.’The Ministry of Sport endorses this vigorous support of nation-building by the private sector and itself is firmly in support of programmes which provide opportunities for athletes and running enthusiasts to demonstrate their athletic skill and ability,’ said Shifeta. Old Mutual announced a sponsorship of N$510 000 for this year’s series, bringing their total sponsorship of the 12-year-old event to over N$3 million.’A worthy platform has indeed been created for both aspiring and professional athletes to showcase their talents,’ Shifeta said. This year’s series will consist of four races throughout Namibia over the next two months.The first race takes place in Keetmanshoop on Saturday, June 16, to be followed by Swakopmund on June 30, Oshakati on July 21 and Windhoek on August 4.The CEO Operations of Old Mutual Namibia, Sakaria Nghikembua, said that the event had given athletes throughout the country an opportunity to test their skills as well as to compete abroad.’Over the 12 years our commitment of N$3 million… has made it possible for Namibian athletes to compete outside of the country, off the basis of Old Mutual’s sponsorship of travel and entry fees to prestigious regional races such as the Two Oceans in South Africa,’ he said.Namibian athletes have excelled at the Two Oceans marathon over the years with Helalia Johannes winning the women’s half marathon on four occasions, while Luketz Swartbooi finished amongst the top five in the 56km marathon on three occasions.Nghikembua said that this year’s events would also be officially recognised as qualifying events for regional or international races since they had secured the services of an official route measurer for the Windhoek and Swakopmund legs of the series.Nghikembua also thanked Coca-Cola and Namibia Beverages who have also been supporting the series for the last six years and who once again made a commitment to continue supporting it.As part of the annual sponsorship two sports development bursaries for learners worth N$12 000 each will be included for the top junior male and female athletes in the series.The prize money for the Old Mutual Victory Races series is as follows:The overall male and female winners of the Half Marathon will receive N$15 000 each, with the overall second athletes receiving N$10 000 and the third athletes N$5 000 each.The male and female winners of the four individual races of the series will receive N$1 500, with the second athletes receiving N$800, the third athletes N$600, the fourth athletes N$400 and the fifth athletes N$250.The male and female winners of the 5km races will each receive N$500, with the second placed athletes receiving N$350, the third placed athletes N$250, the fourth placed athletes N$200 and the fifth placed athletes N$100.- Additional reporting by namibiasport.com.na