In a fabulous display of technique, skill and speed Team Namibia, whipped the crowds into a cheer of solidarity against an Invitation Team from South Africa on Friday night at the Cazadores Inline Hockey Club’s NIIHA League tournament. The National Team scored 12 credible goals and conceded only 2. The tournament was held in Windhoek at the DHPS rink from 25 – 28 May 2006.

Mr Ben//Naobeb Inline Hockey’s Namibia Sports Commission represen-tative officiated at the Colours Cere-mony prior to the game. Sixteen of Namibia’s top athletes, together with Team Manager, Ulrike Rodenwoldt, Tour Managers Mr Tom Mutavdzic and Mr Arndt Asmus, will be depar-ting, - under the professional guidance of Head Coach Phil Boudreault - on LTU for Budapest, Hungary on 30 June to participate at the IIHF Inline Hockey World Championships to be held from 8 – 16 July.

Spectators were treated to a further highlight when the National Team faced off against a carefully selected All Star Team. Visiting players and coaches from Russia, Slovenia, Ger-many, America and Canada teamed up with Namibians to give the National Team a run for the puck. What proved to be a nail-biting game also proved to be an invaluable lesson for Team Namibia: just one mistake can cost goals! Experience counts and that is what the All Stars had plenty of. Assistant coach, Mario Troha, who like Boudreault, has participated in past world championships, concurred with him that it was vital to set up games sporting players of world class calibre to afford the young team the opportunity to cut its teeth in preparation for what lies ahead in Budapest. Similar games have been set up against top teams in Passau, Germany, where the team will train for a week before travelling on to Hungary.

In a country with no history of either inline or ice hockey, it can be consid-ered an incredible feat, that this huge land with its relatively small population and hence limited player choices can once again field a team to face off against the world’s greats, says Russell Vinjevold, President of the Namibia Ice and Inline Hockey Association (NIIHA). Despite limited facilities and a lack of funds compared to other participating countries, Vinjevold continues, Namibian athletes have already shown in Finland last year that they have the stamina, fitness and skill to challenge countries like Great Britain, Japan, Argentina, Chinese Taipei and Brazil amongst others. Not only did they automatically re-qualify for this year’s World Championships, but also managed to bring home the Fair Play Trophy, "an achievement Namibia can be proud of" Vinjevold added.

After all the hard and disciplined training plus the experience gained from the 2005 World Championships, Team Manager, Ulrike Rodenwoldt is confident that Namibia is in a position to improve on its world ranking (currently 14th) and to earn one of the three coveted medals in the B-Pool. "Now we only need enough funds to get there!" she said. Fundraising has been a top priority of NIIHA and members, players and parents have tackled a number of successful projects to make participation in Budapest possible. While companies such as LTU, Dunlop, Kühne & Nagel, Scientific Veterinary Diets and Swakopmund Wine Cellars have generously contributed towards making Team Namibia’s presence at the World Championship becoming a reality, the financial target has not yet been reached. Anyone interested in assisting the National Team can contact Tour Manager, Mr Tom Mutavdzic on 081 128 0496.