Last weekend, Swakopmund based Inline hockey club, Coastal Pirates hosted it’s 10th annual business league tournament sponsored by Swakopmund SUPERSPAR, to kick off the Inline Hockey season for Namibia.  With 29 sponsored teams participating and 57 games, it was a weekend filled with everything a person would expect from such an event: drama, tension, stiff competition and an impeccable level of skill and professionalism being presented on the court.  Nate Blair, Coastal Pirates coach and head coach for the National Team attending the IIHF InLine Hockey World Championships held in Germany between 26th May – 3 June of this year, was very content with the overall performance of the tournament.  “This tournament was very nice, it’s more friendlier than other tournaments and it gave the opportunity for many young players to play in their first tournament.”
Following a round robin format, every age group ranging from under 10 through to masters division slugged it out in their respective groups, providing ample entertainment for the crowds.  Unlike the regular tourna-ment layout, games were a total of 20 minutes in length, ensuring not only that the timeframe for the tournament would be in check, but also resulting in fast paced games laden with fiery intensity.  With finals ending in very close scores, one can certainly get an understanding of the tension that enveloped the court and definitely off it as well.  The final standings for the tournament are as follows:
Masters:  1st  - Europa Hof                    2nd - Swakopmund Brauhaus
Open: 1st - Swakopmund Wynkelders
2nd - Team Jeep/Hans Lohmeier Men’s Outfitters
3rd -  Zur Weinmaus
4th -  Strike Force
5th - Windhooked CC
 6th - Annique
18U: 1st - Hill’s Pet Nutrition
 2nd - Supertrade
3rd - Windhoek Lions
4th - Namboys
16U: 1st - Namboys   
2nd - Seawork
3rd - White Hawks
4th - Dunlop
14U:1st - Oranje-Hoewe
2nd - Piranhas
3rd - Transworld Cargo
12U: 1st - Desert Explorers
 2nd - Optiker Rohloff
10U: 1st - Alternative Space B & B
2nd - Bay Air 
Ladies:1st -  W Meyer Optometrist
2nd-Prima Schlachterei
3rd -  Napolitana Restaurant   
4th - Promac Paints
5th - Hotel Deutsches Haus
6th - Thirdway Consulting
Apart from signalling the start of the season, the business league provided a chance for many of the open players selected for the National squad to flex their muscles and show what they have to offer at the IIHF Inline Hockey World Championships.  With national training camps coming up in March and again in Easter, the National Team will be finalised soon.  Last year Namibia participated in this competition for the second time and automatically qualified for 2007.
With invaluable knowledge only truly acquired through experience, Team Manager Ulrike Rodenwoldt is confident that Namibia will continue to turn heads at the World Champion-ships.  “We will do better; with the experience of our first and second year I am sure we will perform very well. The games we lost were with a maximum margin of 1 or 5 goals, not bad for our first two World Championships. Having tasted the professionalism of more seasoned teams, the players have learned a lot from their rivals and are becoming accustomed to this intense level of game play.  “The biggest difference is how they read the game, they have found the timing,” states Mrs Rodenwoldt. “The players are physically and mentally much stronger, this year we will see a definite improvement.”