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Team RSA Takes the Lead in a Tightly Fought IIHF World Championship Requalification Game in Swakopmund
Anticipation levels were high, as spectators strategically placed themselves in good viewing spots prior to the warm-up of the Namibia and South Africa IIHF Requalification game for the World Championships 2009 to be held in Ingolstadt/Germany. The newly upgraded SFC Hall in Swakopmund was the venue for the first requalification game between host Namibia and the visiting South African Open Inline Hockey Team.
At
the 2007 IIHF World Championships in Passau Team Namibia managed to win
convincingly against South Africa. The final score in Passau was 8:3 with
Basti Faber being the activator for the Namibian squad.
August 2008 in Swakopmund - 4 periods at 12 minutes each being played with stop time. Under the watchful eye of the IIHF officials and Ben //Naobeb from the Namibian Sports Commission, the game started at noon. Four minutes into the game, South Africa scored on Team Namibia with an unassisted goal by Chris Lategan. Team RSA added a second goal in the first quarter, taking a 2:0 lead into the start of period two. As the second quarter commenced, Team Namibia began to assert itself with better puck movement and smarter passing. Team Namibia was rewarded when Oliver Lohmeier sent a well-placed pass to Vincent van Biljon who scored Namibia’s first goal, bringing Team Namibia back into play at 2:1. However, Team Namibia lost its newly gained momentum when South Africa scored a third goal at the 20:45 mark, taking a lead of RSA 3 - Namibia 1 into the halftime break.
Team Namibia played a good second half, being strongly in possession of the puck through the remaining two periods. However, our players could not find an opening past the South African goal keeper, Ashley Bock, who guarded his net tenaciously. Team Namibia placed heavy pressure on the South Africa defense for the entire second half, but only managed to score a second goal with six and a half minutes left in the final period when Marco Debortoli passed the puck to Vincent van Biljon who put it neatly placed into the net. Though Team Namibia tried intensely to score for the remaining six minutes of the game, a strong South African defense held tight.
Final score Team Namibia 2 - Team RSA - 3.
The return, and final, game of the requalification match will be hosted by South Africa on Saturday 30th August 2008 in Johannesburg. However, Team Namibia now faces an uphill battle to requalify, as we have the difficult task of beating Team South Africa by two or more goals on their own home rink in order to participate in Ingolstadt in 2009.
IIHF Men’s World Championship Requalification Game against South Africa
In the Men’s Open division Namibia participated in the International Inline Hockey Federation (IIHF) World Championships for three years (2005-2007). It has taken years of preparation and commitment for Team Namibia to attain and maintain the competitive level that has allowed it to qualify and compete in the IIHF World Championships since 2005.
While our open team managed to bring back gold from the Southern American Championships in 2007 we have yet to beat Brazil at the IIHF World Championships. We have seen considerable improvement in Team Namibia’s overall performance in each of the previous tournaments. Notably, Namibia’s improvement has also coincided with a steady improvement in the overall competitiveness of the IIHF Championships’ participating teams from the top to bottom. This led to Namibia’s relegation from the IIHF World Championships for 2007.
On August 24 2008 our Open team will host the ‘home’ game against South Africa to qualify our team for the 2009 Men’s World Championships to be held in Germany. The second game will be held in Johannesburg on Saturday the 30th August 2008.
The first game will be during the annual Coastal Pirates Tournament to be held from August 22-25 2008 at the SFC Hall in Swakopmund on Sunday morning. Return game will be in Johannesburg a week later. The winner of the requalification games will join Great Britain, Brazil and Hungary in Group D for the IIHF Men’s World Championships 2009 to be held in Germany.
The Namibian Open Team is consists of ‘veteran’ players that have participated in the previous IIHF World Championships, as well as younger players, who have just competed in the FIRS Junior Men’s World Championships 2008 in Philadelphia. Quintin Kotze will coach the team.
Ladies to Bring Back Bronze for FIRS for World Team Cup 2008
The Namibia Ladies Inline Hockey Team competed in the 2008 FIRS World Championships in Duesseldorf, Germany from July 6-12. The Ladies Team had a warm-up for this high-level event by winning all three of their games in a tournament held at Langenfeld. The FIRS Tournament commenced on July 6, with Team Namibia facing an onslaught of traditional inline hockey powerhouse teams from Finland, Canada, Czech Republic, France and Great Britain. Each of these games proved strong going for Team Namibia, but with the exception of the game with the Czechs, Team Namibia made a good showing and in the process, earned the respect of their opponents. Team Namibia ended the initial Round Robin with a tie (1:1) against Japan. After the initial round robin of games, Team Namibia (along with Great Britain, Finland, and Japan) were qualified to compete for the World Team Cup, while the remaining Teams advanced to World FIRS Championships.
The World Team Cup games pitted Finland and Great Britain against each other for the Gold and Silver, while Namibia and Japan were faced off against each other for the bronze. Team Namibia played one of its best games of the tournament in the bronze medal game, beating Japan convincingly by a score of 4:1 for the bronze medal. The World Team Cup was won by Finland, who beat Great Britain by a final score of 2:1.
Team Namibia gained excellent international experience in this tournament, and in the process, faced three of the top four teams from the World Championships bracket. Team Namibia learned it still has a steep growth curve to play at the level of the top teams, but also gained international recognition and respect by playing competitively against a range of international opponents. In particular, Julika Pahl was recognized by the tournament as the “Youngest Player in The Tournament”, while Nadia Schmidt had a solid combined experience between the pre-tournament in Langenfeld and the FIRS Tournament in Duesseldorf.
Following are the final results for Team Namibia at the 2008 FIRS World Championships:
|
|
|
scored |
assisted |
|
Finland:Namibia |
03:01 |
Mari Schmidt |
Danielle Schmidt |
|
Namibia:Canada |
01:05 |
Julika Pahl |
Stephanie Gantz |
|
Namibia:Czech Republic |
00:09 |
|
|
|
France:Namibia |
04:00 |
|
|
|
Great Britain: Namibia |
06:01 |
|
|
|
Namibia:Japan |
01:01 |
Suselle Pronk |
Stephanie Gantz |
|
Namibia:Japan |
04:01 |
Nadia Schmidt |
|
|
|
|
Nadia Schmidt |
|
|
|
|
Annemarie Kruger |
|
|
|
|
Heidi Garbade |
|
Stepping Up to the Challenge
The Junior Men's World Inline Hockey Championships were competed in by a total of ten different teams. The final placement of the teams were as follows:
| 1) Great Britain | 2) USA |
| 3) Canada | 4) Czech Republic |
| 5) Mexico | 6) Germany |
| 7) Columbia | 8) Namibia |
| 9) Switzerland | 10) New Zealand |
Participation in this event was a learning experience for the 19 and Under National Team Namibia 2008 and one which will provide lessons for participation in future international inline hockey events. On a positive note, Team Namibia beat Switzerland and was competitive in games against Columbia, Germany, and Mexico. Thus, we can be proud that we played many opponents to an even level, and earned the respect of our opponents even though we have far fewer players to draw from in forming our team.
On the other-hand, we were, dominated by stronger, deeper, and more skilled teams from USA, Czech Republic and Great Britain. These teams had more overall team speed, deeper lines, and demonstrated great skill in passing, puck movement, and shooting. The pressure they placed upon us challenged our ability to play good team defense or to mount coordinated offensive attacks. This domination should not be considered surprising, given the immense pools of players these countries have at their disposal and the fact that hockey (both inline and ice) are popular national sports supported with development through organised leagues and school sports programmes.
Nonetheless, it is clear that in order for us to field a more competitive team in these events in the future, we need to focus more on the basics of inline hockey. Better passing, better positioning on defense, more disciplined team shooting, and better teamwork are essential. We need to play smarter and with more confidence. While we may not be able to substantially expand the pool of players we can draw upon in Namibia, we can certainly improve our players' knowledge, skills, confidence, and ability to play inline hockey better.
Participation in the FIRS Junior World Inline Hockey Championships, though challenging at times, has been a good step in exposing our Under-19 Juniors to this process. We are hopeful this experience will be seen by team members, and their parents, as a stepping stone to increasing the competiveness of Namibia inline hockey and eventually assisting Namibia to field a stronger National Level Inline Hockey team in the future.
For a detailed game report of the National 19 and Under Team please click here.
Little Feet impressed on Sportsplex
During June/July 2008 our Under-14 team was exposed to some of the best inline hockey in the world. The International 14 and Under 14 Junior Olympics were combined with the high profile FIRS World Championships, which cumulatively, resulted with 769 games being played over a two-week period. Participants from 13 countries were present, while a wide assortment of clubs ranging from A grade to AAA grade to National Teams played a steady stream of games from 6:00 am to 12:00 pm on daily basis. Our objectives of sending our young, Namibian 14-under team to this event were multi-fold. First we wanted our up-and-coming inline hockey players to be exposed to top-grade inline hockey and become seasoned players. Secondly, we wanted our young team to grow in terms of experience, skills, and confidence. Thirdly, we wanted our under-14 participants and the clubs they represent to grow closer as a team and prepare Namibia inline hockey to be a stronger international contestant five and ten years down the road. And, lastly, we wanted these young players to have fun!
While the Under-14 Team did not win many games, we believe the objectives of this trip have been resoundingly achieved. Our Under-14 now understand what it takes to compete at high level international competitions. The standard of their game has increased significantly, as evidenced by their increased competitiveness as the competitions progressed. Our players have learned to play better as a team, with the increased confidence and skills that can only be attained through the experience of having participated at an international event of this nature. And, our players have had an experience that will be a cherished life-long memory. We believe this process has been a worthwhile investment for each participating team member, and will yield fruits for Namibian inline hockey for many years to come.
The International 14 and Under 14 Junior Olympics were followed up by the AAU clubs' competition with three categories ranking in ability from AAA to A. Namibia was placed in the AA division and came up against some strong clubs.
The first game against the NJ Cougars proved difficult with an final score of 6-1 in favour of the Cougars. Namibia's goal was scored by Bauke Ellis.
In the second game, Namibia lost to the Flash 93 6-2, with our goals being scored by Jason Le Roux and Divan Visser.
As the boys gained confidence and experience their playing improved and the scores became more competitive. Namibia played against Pittsburgh, losing 3-1. This was followed up with a game against the Black Ice which proved to be very exciting. Bauke Ellis scored a goal within the first minute, but Black Ice fought back with their own goal soon after. Despite Namibia putting up a hard fight, Black Ice triumphed with a final score of 8-5.
Namibia's goals were scored by Kai Meiburg, Jason Le Roux, Bauke Ellis (twice) and Divan Visser assisted by J.-J. Tromp.
Game 5 against the Typhoons proved to be the most exciting of all. The teams tied at 1 each for the first half. During the second half both teams managed to add 1 more goal. An extra 18 minutes with a sudden death play-off was initiated. Namibia kept good control of the puck and patiently passed and circled until an opening came.
Four minutes into sudden death, Otwin Foerster saw the opportunity and took a slap shot from the half-way line, scoring the winning goal for us. Final score 3-2.
This took us into the quarter finals where we came up against Flash 93 again.
Namibia played well, but despite many shots on the opposing teams goal, could not push through into the semi finals. Please click here for detailed report!
Team Namibia brings back Gold
On December 14-15, 6 teams participated in the VII South American Championships in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Team Namibia, an invited guest, was the only non-South American team present. Team Namibia was headed by Captain Timo Giersch, with the rest of the team being composed of Arne Rodenwoldt, Vincent van Biljon, Riyaan Ely, Marco Debortoli, Erik Rodenwoldt, Marcel Baas, Bastian Faber, and Phil Boudreault. The team was coached by the Namibian National coach, Nate Blair, and accompanied by Team Manager, Ulrike Rodenwoldt.
The six tournament teams were divided into two groups:
Group 1
· Namibia
· Brasilien B
· AABB Sao Paulo
Group 2
· Brasilien A
· Minas Gerais
· Argentina
During the preliminary rounds, each Group 1 team played round-robin games against each team from Group 2. Team Namibia played its first game against Argentina, winning in a dominating fashion, 14-3. Our second game, proved to be our most difficult of the tournament, with Team Namibia edging Brazil(A) 3-2 in a hard-fought contest. Team Namibia moved through the Preliminary round undefeated, soundly beating Brazil’s regional team, Minas Gerais, 11-2, in the third and final game of the preliminary round.
Team Namibia’s first place finish in Group 1 earned it a favoured seeding in the Semi-Finals, pitting Team Namibia against the 2nd placed team out of our own group (AABB SAO Paulo). Once again Team Namibia won convincingly 7-3, thereby earning the right to play Brazil(A) for a second time, but with the tournament Championship now riding on the outcome of this game.
The Finals matched undefeated Team Namibia against Brazil(A) -- a team that was largely composed of veteran players who recently won the 2006 International Inline Hockey Federation World Championship in Passau, Germany. Once again, Team Namibia proved to be better, winning the Championship game in a convincing fashion, 5-1. Basti Faber scored 2 goals, while Phil Boudreault, Cello Baas and Arne Rodenwoldt each managed to add their goal for Namibia.
Namibia’s dominant performance in the Tournament was reflected by three individual players receiving tournament awards. Cello Baas was acknowledged with the “Most Assists“ Award; Erik Rodenwoldt received “Best Goalie” Award; and Phil Boudreault was recognized as the “Top Scorer” and “MVP” for the Championships.
Team Namibia would like to express their gratitude to the Brazil Inline Hockey organizers, who were warm and exceptional hosts; and the Namibia Sports Commission for funding a large share of the costs that allowed Team Namibia to participate in the VII South American Inline Hockey Championships.
Our Team will arrive back in Windhoek on Wednesday 19th December at 12h55.
Namibian Sand Lovers at the Copacabana Beach
After a long trip our senior team has arrived in Sao Paulo to meet up with Phil Boudreault and catch the connecting flight to Rio. Visiting the Corcovado to look at the spectacular scenery and catching their breath on Ipanema beach our squad is preparing for the VII South American Championships to start on Friday.
The preparation game against Mandala reflected that our game must still improve although Team Namibia managed to decide the final score in their favour 3 - 0. Goals were scored by Vincent van Biljon and Phil Boudreault.
Final 2007 Tournament at the Cazadores InLine Hockey Club a Success
Approximately 320 players showed their metal during this weekend and delighted spectators with some brilliant passes and a good display of skills.
Players as young as six years of age displayed some amazing resilience and perseverance, confirming the strong belief that this sport is in Namibia to stay. Dominating Coastal Pirates clenched the gold for the tournament in age divisions 8, 14, 16, 18 and Under and the Masters divisions. Only in the 10 and 12 and Under did the host Cazadores manage to step up to the first position. An inspired Badgers ladies division won the gold only giving up two goals while scoring 23 on their opponents. The Badgers club also won silver in 14 and Under and Masters divisions and bronze in 8 and 12.
The Scorpions from Otjiwarongo won bronze in 10, 16 and Open divisions, while the Windhoek-based Kamikaze won bronze in the 18 and Under and Ladies divisions.
To look at overall standings and results click here.
Barbwire Breakfast sets the right mode for
Spanish Championships
News from Phil Boudreault
Yesterday ended our season in Spain, with the Spanish cup title in play, it was awesome to have my good Swedish buddy on the same line to be able to help me lift the cup. Yeah, we won the Spanish cup 3-2 versus my friends from Barcelona and at the same time clinched a spot at the European clubs championship (champions league) for the 2008 season, although I don´t know if I´ll remain here, it´s very important achievement for the club in it´s best season ever. as Roman (Marx) always said: if you win your last game of the year, it´s been a successful year... very clever!
Namibia raises bar for 2007 Inline World
Champs
Article by
Kate Nebe
Namibia’s bid to scale the ranks at the 2007 inline hockey world championships got off to a determined start in Swakopmund last weekend with the first round of selection trials for the national team.
Under the watchful eye of new national coach Nate Blair and assistant coach Mario Troha, 22 hopefuls worked through three grueling days of fitness, skills and teamwork training, as part of the five month build up to the world championship, to be held in Germany next May.
This will be Namibia’s third consecutive appearance alongside inline hockey’s world elite, and according to coach Blair, the team stands an excellent chance of improving its current world ranking.
“What I saw at the weekend was very encouraging,” said Blair, an experienced Canadian inline and ice hockey coach who arrived in Namibia mid-December to take up his new position. “Some of the players really impressed me, and there were some flashes of greatness. There are players here who could be world class given the right conditions.”
The trials were made up of a tightly formulated programme of on-court and off-court training, during which all aspects of the players’ game were assessed. Blair said he was looking specifically for a solid work ethic and good team players.
“The biggest weakness was fitness,” said Blair. “It has to be really excellent to succeed at this level of competition, and most of the players have some work to do to improve their overall strength.”
The next chance for players to prove their mettle will be mid-January when the second trial takes place, also at the coast. “We’ve made no selections so far, we have just been assessing the general level and what we have to build on,” said the new coach.
After sound performances at the 2005 world championship in Finland and at this year’s tournament in Hungary, Namibia is no longer the Cinderella of the inline hockey world. Despite the relatively young average age of its players, Team Namibia is now being acknowledged as serious and improving contender by the international hockey fraternity.
According to Blair, one of the team’s greatest strengths is the positive attitude of its players. “There’s real commitment to producing their best. The players want to contribute, they want to work hard and give 110%. Combined with the skills I’ve already seen, that will take us a long way.”
Further, it seems, than the support shown so far by would-be sponsors of the championship campaign. According to Arndt Asmus, Sports Director for the Namibian Inline and Ice Hockey Association (NIIHA), interest from the business sector in one of Namibia’s most successful national teams, has been disappointing.
“Even though the team has produced such outstanding results, we still struggle to find good solid sponsors,” said Asmus. “We are still largely reliant on fund-raising events and individual contributions from players, their clubs and their families. We hope this year will be different and that the business community will help us fly the Namibian flag … the team has surely proved its worth by now.”
Namibia Inline Hockey Team on the
way to the
2007 Inline Hockey World Championships in Passau, Germany
The official Namibia Ice & Inline Hockey season came to an end with the Coastal Pirates Tournament in August 2006. However, many U18 and open team players have remained active as they have begun the challenging process of competing for a position on the 2007 Namibia National Team.
During 2006 NIIHA had close to 500 registered players, and a few more than 60 players in the U18/open teams are eligible to compete for a position on the 2007 National Team. The Namibian player pool does not compare with nations like USA, Russia, Finland, and Sweden from the top division or the other European teams our squad will be lined up against in Division 1.
Still, our players have shown remarkable resilience and determination. They have put Namibia on the map amongst the international Inline Hockey fraternity. Ideally Namibia should nominate 18 players - 4 lines with 4 players each and 2 goalies - to represent Team Namibia.
With the excellent groundwork laid in 2005 and 2006 (by Philippe Boudreault as head coach and Roman Marx and Mario Troha as assistant coaches for 2005 and 2006, respectively) Mario Troha has taken up the position as coach for the 2007 trials.
A total of 23 players submitted their national team application for 2007. The first round selection was held in Windhoek on the Cazadores field during the last weekend of October and saw determined contenders start their grinding journey to Passau under Namibia’s scorching sun.
Seven more training camps are scheduled to prepare the players for a successful Inline Hockey World Championship which is to be held in Passau between 26th May and 3rd June 2007.
Photo: Archive 2006
A
determined player,
Jörg
Güther, on the way to the
goal.
COASTAL PIRATES HOSTS BAY AIR YOUTH DEVELOPMENT TOURNAMENT
October 6 - 8, 2006
The
Coastal Pirates Inline Hockey Club invites everyone to enjoy a
fun-orientated version of InLine Hockey at the Bay Air Youth Development
tournament this weekend.
The tournament starts at 15h00 on Friday 6th and runs through until Sunday lunchtime, at the SFC Main Hall in Swakopmund.
Come and watch our budding stars - from beginners to advanced players - and see the results of our professional coaching programme at development level. Brim full of enthusiasm, these youngsters will show how the game of inline hockey is played and will compete in a variety of skating races.
Pointing in the right direction...
Some
excellent young players, aged between 5 and 14, will keep you entertained. Even in the youngest division, good passing and shooting skills can be observed: a promising sign for Namibia's continued success in this exciting, fast-growing sport.
For
the first time this year we showcase players from our pre-school development programme. These underprivileged children, from the DRC School Project, have been been involved in once-a-week inline skating and hockey sessions since May, and have already progressed to a point where they can compete at tournament level.
The youngsters are keen to put their newly-acquired skills into practice and have been training hard to be ready for the big event. They will appear in the 8&U category, which is famous for its thrills, spills and surprising level of skills.
We
can do it...
We
can do it...
Entry to the tournament is free and there will be food and drinks on sale from early morning.
The opportunity to participate at an event like the IIHF World Championships is a dream - 16 countries compete for the title to be the best and to determine who is the most skilled in this fast and exciting team sport. We shared the group with Great Britain, Japan and Argentina. Our aim to automatically qualify Namibia for 2007 has been achieved!
All this is only possible with the help of our supporters.
***
Final Placements 2006
|
USA |
|
Great Britain |
|
Sweden |
|
Hungary |
|
Finland |
|
Brazil |
|
Germany |
|
Japan |
|
Czech Republic |
|
Namibia |
|
Slovakia |
|
Australia |
|
Slovenia |
|
Croatia |
|
Austria |
|
Argentina |
|
|
|
|
|
MVP award: Daniel Wessner (SWE) |
|
MVP award: John Dolan (GBR) |
Saturday 15 July 2006: Australia - Namibia
The Inline hockey World Championships came to an end for Namibia on Saturday, a day earlier than hoped for.
Today’s game was all about getting a notch up on the IIHF standings. The opponent: Australia - the same as 2005.
Namibia took the lead in the 14th minute when Cello Bass scored, assisted by Arne Rodenwoldt. Two minutes later Namibia scored again with Francois Jacobs putting the puck into the net assisted by Arne Rodenwoldt and Marco Debortoli.
Australia came back and scored a goal in the 19th minute. Namibia scored their third goal when Cello Bass increased the lead for Team Namibia.
Australia - as we have seen during the World Championship games with their ‘never say die’ attitude - scored their second goal in the 23rd minute.
Half time score 3 to 2 for Namibia. The team knew that this game would get tougher from here on.
Australia came back in the third quarter three minutes into the game to score the equalizer. Both teams tried to turn the game in their favour, but the scores held and into overtime we went.
A goal in the 3rd minute by Timo Giersch assisted by Vincent van Biljon pushed Namibia into rank 13th in the World according to IIHF.
Mario Troha, the assistant coach, said: "Our Team played with head and heart.”
Congratulations to our players for their performance. A big thank you also to the crowd and all supporters.
Best player: Francois Jacobs
Penalties: 8 Penalties (3 Namibia)
Final Score: Australia 3: Namibia 4 overtime (0:0, 2:3, 1:0, 0:0, 0:1)
***
Friday 14 July 2006: Brazil - Namibia
It did only take 1:24 for Brazil to score their first goal against Namibia. Then, 2:31 minutes later the second goal for the first quarter.
As if in a replay of the first quarter only 1:13 min into the second period and Brazil had scored again. Although it took them longer to score their forth goal.
In 31:27 minutes Arne Rodenwoldt finally put in that one goal for Team Namibia unassisted. 2 minutes before the end of this quarter Team Namibia took a 10 minute penalty. The following three goals were score while Namibia had four or then only 3 players on the rink.
Best player: Riyaan Ely
Penalties: 10 Penalties (7 Namibia)
Final Score: Brazil 7: Namibia 1 (2:0, 2:0, 1:1, 2:0)
***
Thursday 13th July 2006
Today's qualification games between Austria and Hungary as well as Slovenia versus Great Britain will determine whether the teams from top division will move into division one and vice versa.
***
Team Namibia has a write-up (every day two teams of this year's IIHF World Championships 2006 get introduced in the news section) in today's report. http://www.inline2006.hu/eng/index.php .
Wednesday 12th July 2006: Namibia - Argentina
ok. Now that our team and the
supporters have come to grips with yesterdays loss, we can focus on the task
ahead. I know that our team has worked hard to be at the World Championships
2006 and I can only guess how much it takes to stay positive and keep on working
at a better game.
So, the game has started at 12:00 Namibian time on schedule. Again penalties seem to set the scene. Argentina get one for interference only 29 seconds into the game. Then Marco Debortoli is penalised for "use of elbow" - I guess one needs to make a point... Then at 8:27minutes Cello Baas scores the first goal of the game unassisted.
The next 12 minutes begin with
a goal by Argentina only 23 seconds into the quarter. 18:41min Argentina gets a
penalty for body-checking and takes time-out. Then two goals by Team Namibia
within 38 seconds scored by Vincent van Biljon assisted by Basti Faber during
power play and another by Cello Baas assisted by Timo Giersch and Oliver
Lohmeier.
Timo Giersch, Assistant Captain, Zaid Ely and a player from Argentina in
action
26:59 min and Argentina score their second goal. Then things get a bit hectic with one player from each side cooling off. Two minutes later Vincent van Biljon assisted by Arne Rodenwoldt score our fourth goal.
The last quarter has Argentina come within 1 goal while we have a player on ice and manage to tie within two minutes.
The score takes the teams into overtime with the sudden death rule. Namibia scores this goal at 52:59 to bring home their first win during the World Championships. This goal was scored by the captain, Riyaan Ely, assisted by Basti Faber.
Best player: Cello Baas
Penalties: 11 Penalties (5 Namibia)
Final Score: Namibia 5: Argentina 4 overtime (1:0, 2:1, 1:1, 0:2, 1:0)
***
Looking at the statistics after two games, Namibia presently stands tied for sixth out of eight teams in Division 1. The lead is shared by Hungary, Brazil, and Great Britain who all still remain undefeated after two games. Tomorrow's game is pivotal to our placement in Division 1, as we are playing against Argentina, who presently is ahead of us due to the point they accrued through their overtime loss to Japan.
Tuesday 11th July 2006: Japan - Namibia
Statistics on the official IIHF 2006 website indicate a difficult game for our team. Only 11seconds after the start of the game Japan was penalised for hooking. 1.35min later Japan scored their first goal. Two more goals were scored by Japan in the first 12 minutes. 5 penalties were given (two for Team Namibia) in this quarter.
2.28min into the second quarter and Oliver Lohmeier reduced the advantage of Japan. This first goal for our team was assisted by Jörg Güther and Basti Faber. In this quarter 6 penalties were given - two for Team Namibia.
2 minutes played in the third quarter and Cello Baas scored our second goal unassisted. Japan managed to increase their goals to four goals.
The last quarter saw Japan add three more goals to give the final score.
Penalties: 9 for Japan, 7 for Namibia.
Final score: Japan 7 : Namibia 2 (3:0,0:1,1:1,3:0).
***
Monday 10th July 2006: Great Britain - Namibia
Temperature in Budapest today is sultry. This first game was exciting. Team Namibia played well. The first goal of the World Championships 2006 was scored by Great Britain's number 17 (Chris Colegate) assisted by Andrew Sillitoe. No goals were scored in the second quarter. In the third quarter Namibia managed to tie. During the final quarter Great Britain scored two goals whereas Team Namibia managed to add 1 goal. *Our goals were scored by Cello Baas assisted by Arne Rodenwoldt and Basti Faber assisted by Riyaan Ely and Harald Keil.
Number 37 (Richard Hargreaves) and number 11 (Kristopher Hendy) from Great Britain were penalized for interference during this game. Kristopher Hendy then was penalised for charging and finally for Great Britain Mark Corfield got 2min for slashing.
Namibia's Timo Giersch (22) was penalized for hooking. and hi-sticking and Arne Rodenwoldt for body-checking.
*There were some slight inconsistencies between the SMS received and the final game sheet as to who assisted.
Best player: Erik Rodenwoldt.
Final score: Great Britain 3 : Namibia 2 (1:0-0:0-0:1-2:1)
Team Namibia will play the first game in the 2006 Inline Hockey World Championships against Great Britain. Great Britain won the Bronze medal last year. On Tuesday our team will have to face Japan and on Wednesday Argentina. Ideally our young squad will win at least two of their games to ensure Namibia's automatic qualification for 2007 in Germany.
Thursday 6th July 2006: Team Namibia versus Black Hawks (Deggendorf)
This was the last preparation game in Deggendorf. The Deggendorf Team had the German Captain Jan Schinkenk
öthe on their squad as well as the ex German player Thomas Greileinger and reserve Thomas Kulzer.
The Namibia Squad showed discipline and did not give away any penalties. The
first two quarters were evenly matched which was reflected in the score at half
time: 3 all.
The third quarter was dominated by Team Namibia which was rewarded by2 goals to
Namibia against 1 by the Rolling Wanderers.
Although the Namibians defended well, Deggendorf managed to score the equalising
goal in the dying minutes of the game.
It went to penalty shoot out which was yet another learning curve for the young
Namibian team (average age 19.5). They managed to win the penalty shoot out by 3
to 2.
The goal scorers for the Namibian team in normal time were Arne Rodenwoldt,
Riyaan Ely, Basti Faber, Alex Courtney-Clarke and Vincent von Biljon. Penalty
goals where shot by Cello Bass, Marco Debortoli and Arne Rodenwoldt .
The Namibian team played their best hockey ever and coach Phil Boudreault said
the following: "It is the first time since I have been coaching them that I have
seen them take their time and use the space and play like a team."
The team is now in Budapest and anxiously awaiting their first game against
Great Britain at 13:00 hours European time. The Team finds themselves in good
spirits and are all fit. The supports group is in full strength 15 in all and
help where they can.
The team has cut their budget to the tooth and are still in need of about 50,000
Nam Dollars. Every Dollar will help!
***
Tuesday 4th July 2006: Rolling Wanderers from Germering
Several of the Namibian players were sick and had to stay in bed. That being
said it was a challenging game although our team managed to put in four goals.
Final score: Rolling Wanderers 8 : Team Namibia 4. Goals were scored by: Arne Rodenwolt, Vincent van Biljon, Cello Bass und Marco Debortoli.
***
Sunday 2nd July 2006: Team Namibia versus Black Hawk (Bayern Open Team)
(goalie: Erik Rodenwoldt)
Today we played against the Bayern Open Team. It was clear from the start that
this game wouldn't be the same as yesterdays.
In this game the physical advantage of the German Open Team was apparent. These
players were built stronger than the players from the U18 team.
In the first quarter the German Team managed to score three goals against one goal from
Namibia scored by Zaid Ely.
In the second quarter the German Team scored two more goals, while the Namibian
Team did their best to defend and help Erik Rodenwoldt protect the goal.
Vincent van Biljon scored the second goal which was assisted by Arne Rodenwoldt.
A few minutes later Jörg Güther scored the third goal for Namibia.
The game ended with a final score of 8:3 for Germany.
***
Saturday 1st July 2006: Team Namibia versus U18 National Team Germany
(goalie: Rene Werner)
The Namibian Inline Hockey Team today played against the U18 National Team from
Germany. Within five minutes into the game the German National Team scored the first goal.
It was clearly visible how nervous the players from Team Namibia were. Two minutes later Arne
Rodenwoldt scored the first goal for the Namibian National Team. The atmosphere
was really amazing!
With another goal by Arne Rodenwoldt the score increased to 2:1 for the
Namibian Team.
The second quarter started off with Zaid Ely scoring the third goal for Namibia, a few minutes later Jörg Güther scored the fourth goal.
In the 4th quarter the Germans scored their second goal.
The end result of 4:2 for Namibia gave our players some confidence.
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 representative officiated at the Colours Ceremony 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 departing, - 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, Germany, 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 considered 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, K
ühne & 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.While most Namibians were looking forward to a long weekend and days of fun and relaxation with family and friends, Namibia´s national inline hockey squad thronged to Swakopmund, not for a jolly sojourn in this popular holiday resort, but to congregate at the SFC Sports Club to embark on an adventure of a different kind. The IIHF Inline Hockey World Championships is but a breath away (8 - 16 July) and Head Coach, Phil Boudreault, Assistant Coach, Mario Troha and Team Manager, Ulrike Rodenwoldt still had plenty of Easter surprises for the squad up their sleeves. Beep-tests, strenuous endurance tests, skill exercises and mental preparation were compacted into Phil´s Easter weekend extravaganza.
Instead of gorging on easter bunnies, sweat coated pores, hard work replaced glimpses of beaches filled with holiday revellers. The SFC Hall was a battlefield of physicality, determination, dedication and the dreams of young men united in their desire to do their country proud in Budapest, Hungary. With the departure for the World Championships looming at the end of June, every member of the squad was only too aware of the fact that only maximum commitment would secure them a place on the final team. In fact, according to Phil, commitment and hard work, are two key words of his rigorous preparatory training programme, a fact the faint-hearted soon realised: international inline hockey in the men´s division is not a game for sissies.
A healthy sports ethic, team work and sportsmanship, too, helped separate the men from the boys. So while the rest of the population settled down to attack the Easter roast, Riyaan Ely (Captain), Marco Debortoli (Assistant Captain), Timo Giersch (Assistant Captain), Bastian Faber, Arne Rodenwoldt, Vincent van Biljon, Jörg Güther, Harald Keil, Francois Jacobs, Erik Rodenwoldt (Goalie), Rene Werner (Goalie), Robert Roxin, Cello Baas, Oliver Lohmeier, Zaid Ely, Alex Courtney-Clarke and, sated themselves on the knowledge that each one of them had slain the proverbial dragon and made it to the top. Phil was right: hard work and commitment reap just rewards: a place on the Namibian Team.
Inline Hockey 'back to business' for 2006
Well known as an exciting curtain raiser for the nationwide NIIHA League, the tournament runs from 10th to 12th March. This is your chance to check out this year's inline talent when 58 games in seven age divisions are played back to back, from early morning to late at night.
The fund-raising event, which runs from Friday afternoon to Sunday lunchtime, brings together teams sponsored by businesses in Swakopmund, Windhoek and Otjiwarongo. They play under their sponsors' banners, but team names are meant to raise a smile: under fun banners like "Stoflappe", "Pink Panthers", "Maersk Maniacs", "Cobras", "Aviators" and "Vipers".
Staunch supporters of the tournament for years are back again with powerful line-ups: " Supertrade", "Wine Cellars", "Güther's Maintenance", "Hill's Pet Nutrition", "Team Jeep", "Alternative Space", "Right Shoppers", "Transworld Cargo", "Desert Explorers" and "Swakopmund Brauhaus" are just some of the teams in contention. Newcomers to the competition - such as CTM, ATC-Namibia and Hotel Eberwein - will also be joining the fray.
There should be riveting action in the Men's Open division where six teams will battle it out. Most of these players belong to the Namibian National squad, which has qualified for the 2006 World Inline Hockey Championships in Budapest in July. All are in top form, high spirits and ready to show what they are made of.
A series of six 'finals' to sort out the honours in each age division are scheduled for Sunday morning.
Meanwhile, spectators can cool off at the bar in the tournament tent, which will be open for drinks and refreshments throughout the weekend.
The Coastal Pirates hosts the Swakopmund SPAR Business League as a fun-oriented version of NIIHA's national league which starts in earnest at the beginning of April. The first in a series of five tournaments will take place from April 7th- 9th at the 'Badgers rink' on the Windhoek Showgrounds.
Please click here to have a look at the schedule.
Inline hockey has become far removed from its humble beginnings and has instead opted for an ambience of fierce and stiff competition. At present, Namibia hosts 5 self-sustaining hockey clubs with a standard of expertise that would definitely rival many on this continent. On numerous occasions, Namibian teams have participated in national South African tournaments on both club and national level - with a record that boasts an impressive resume of wins and respect. This resume extends further than the borders to the south however, as Namibia, for the first time took part in the IIHF Inline Hockey World Championship held in Finland last year. Many countries that took part had never even heard of Namibia, let alone a national inline hockey team coming from it.
Despite marginal losses against teams that have frequently participated on such international standards of professionalism, the National team has certainly shown that it will be a force to be reckoned with in the near future. With a win in the bag by clenching victory over Chinese Taipei, Namibia has automatically qualified for this year's World Championship to be held in Hungary between 10 and 16 July 2006. With the experience gained and knowledge obtained from their first world Championship, the National Inline Hockey team is more driven and compelled to succeed and could possibly fortify several wins against first world countries who have unlimited access to the best sporting resources available. Though the only dilemma resides in a problem that we are all too familiar with: financial restraint. Is this an uphill battle on a rocky terrain? It most certainly is. Amidst the rigorous training camps being held, the National team has and will be hosting various fund raising events in order to represent our exquisite country in the international realm.
With your help we can pave a road that would allow Namibia's finest inline hockey players and staff the opportunity to show the world what Namibia has to offer and so together we can raise our beautiful flag upon the hill laden with dedication and pride.
The following fundraising activities are planned:
The players participating in the trials for the WC 2006 were working flat out at the second set of trials in a six month selection process which began in October 2005. By April 2006, the trials will have produced the team to represent Namibia at the 2006 International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) Inline Hockey World Championships in Budapest.
Aged between 16 and 25, the best of Namibia's inline talent, drawn from clubs in Otjiwarongo, Windhoek and Swakopmund were put through their paces by Namibian national team head coach Philippe Boudreault and his assistant Roman Marx, under the watchful eye of Ben Naobeb for the Namibian Sports commission.
The third trial in the series took place in Swakopmund from January 6th - 8th. Like the others, it tested stamina, skills, teamwork, match sense and commitment. Subsequent training camps will be held in Windhoek and at the coast and the world championship squad will have been finalised by April.
The demanding training and selection schedule, which has been designed by Boudreault, also incorporates a specialised biokinetic programme. Several participants have already fallen by the wayside, while some others are hanging on by the skin of their teeth as the going gets tougher.
After the trials, team manager Ulrike Rodenwoldt said she was well satisfied by the high standards set by both coach and players. "It was particularly pleasing to see the keen interest taken by Mr Naobeb of the Sports Commission. He attended every day of the trials and said he was most impressed by the way they had been handled."
The Budapest world championships in July will mark Namibia's second appearance at the prestigious IIHF tournament. Team Namibia's debut performance in 2005 was good enough to requalify for 2006, won the tournament's Fair Play trophy, and earned international respect for the high standard of inline hockey in Namibia.
This year, the team hopes to improve on its 2005 standings. "We can draw on the experience we gained in 2005," said Boudreault, who was a finalist in this year's Namibia Sports Awards 'Coach of the Year' competition. "Many players from last year's squad will be in the team again, plus we have some very good new talent. Every year we take part in the World Championships, Namibian inline hockey as a whole will benefit," he said.
Training in Swakopmund for the National squad resumed on 3 January at the SFC Hall.
96 players competed in various age groups were 12 games and three categories in the skills competition took place. The skills competitions in the 16under division in the category for the fastest skater was won by Ivan Tchekashkine, for the obstacle parcour and accurate shooting Daniel Asmus took home the first price.
In the open division the coaches put theory into practice and took home the gold for the fastest skater and obstacle parcour (Roman Marx) as well as Philippe Boudreault for accurate shooting.
In the divisions results are reflected as follows:
Gero Kopp from the Kamikaze Club managed to save the most shots against his team in the 16under division, Erik Rodenwoldt took the first position in the 18under and shared the rank with Oliver Bause from the Cazadores in the open divisions. Natasha Mutavdzic managed to save all shots against her team in the penalty shootout for the ladies division.
After Team Namibia competed in the InLine World Championships 2005 in Kuopio/Finland this year and bringing home the prestigious Fair Play Trophy and an automatic qualification for 2006 in Hungary the InLine Hockey membership can be proud of their players this year.
The trials for 2006 will be held in October and December this year and will hopefully help prepare our players for a good year in 2006.
The Coastal Pirates Inline Hockey Club invites everybody to enjoy a fun-orientated version of InLine Hockey for the youngsters.
Come and watch the little stars - from beginner level to advanced - with their BIG enthusiasm. They will show how the game of inline hockey is played and will compete in various skating races.
See how encouraging the results of our professional coaching programme are at development level. We have some excellent young players, aged between 5 and 14, who will keep the crowds more than entertained. They already have good passing and shooting skills, even in the youngest division: a really promising sign for Namibia's continued success in this excititng, fast-growing sport.
The tournament starts on Saturday, 17 September at 08h00 at the SFC Main Hall in Swakopmund and continues until lunch time on September 8 .
Entry to the tournament is free and there will be food and drinks on sale from early morning.
The visiting team from Botswana the Mukwa Leafs showed some great games and managed to win the silver in 10U and the bronze medal in the Masters division. The South African Piranhas took home the silver medal in the 18U division. The Bissendorfer Panther from Germany gave our teams a good run and managed to outscore several teams by winning the bronze medal in the highly competitive 16U division where 7 teams participated. They also won the bronze medal in the Open division. Two more South African Teams the Bad Boys and Phoenix narrowly missed a medal and ended up in fourth position in 16U and the Open division respectively.
The Coastal Pirates scooped gold medals in 5 of the 8 divisions: 10U, 12U, 16U, 18U as well as the Open division. The ladies team of the Badgers commanded respect by winning all their games to take home the gold. The visiting ladies team from South Africa, the Angels, were weakened by a broken leg. Cazadores won gold in 14U as well as the Masters division. The Scorpions took home silver in 12U and added bronze in the 14U division. Kamikaze won bonze in the ladies division. Please click here to have a look at the draft results.
Teams from Botswana, Germany and South Africa will compete against our local clubs for the desired medals. Games will be played in all age divisions.
The official schedule for the 2005 IIHF World InLine Hockey Championship has been announced. Overall, 16 teams will travel to Finland to take part in the event. The championship will be split into two groups, a Top Division, with the top eight teams in the world, and a Division I level with the next eight best teams.
At the end of the championship, two sets of medals will be awarded for both the Top Division and Division I to the top three finishers.
Click here for the full schedule.
For the first time ever, Finland will host the IIHF World InLine Hockey Championship. The annual event will be held in the northern city of Kuopio from July 9-16.
Two arenas will host the 16 participating nations. Niirala Main Arena will be the primary venue and has a capacity of 5,000, while Kuopio-halli will be the second venue with a capacity of 2,300. Finland is the defending silver medallist of the InLine Hockey World Championship after USA captured the gold last year.
Kuopio is approximately 350 km north of Helsinki and is a first-time host of any IIHF World Championship event.
Germany has hosted the IIHF InLine Hockey World championship for the last three years. It was in Germany that the current format, with 16 teams, was adopted. The same format will be used at this year's championship.
The 16 teams will be split into a Top Division and a Division I group. The top eight teams will be split into two groups of four for a round robin, while the same will happen in the Division I level. The two last-place teams from the top division round robin and the two first place teams from the Division I round robin will play a qualification game for the right to move, or stay, among the best eight teams.
After the qualification game, there will be a playoff in each group to determine the medallists at each level. Since the new format was adopted, no Division I team has earned the right to play among the top eight teams, however, the gap has been closing between the two levels.
The medal games will be played on July 16. A complete schedule will be announced at a later date.
Source: http://www.iihf.com/inline/news.htm
6 players from the Cazadores Open Team were elected into the National Team to play against South Africa to qualify for the 2005 World Championships.
Both games were won by the Namibian National Team. Namibia will participate at the World Championships 2005 in Finland!
Saisonstart mit Top Trainer Roman Marx bei Cazadores Inline Hockey Club
Der Cazadores Inline Hockey Club Windhoek startet die Saison 2005 mit der Verpflichtung eines neuen Trainers.
Roman Marx ist ein international erfahrener Eis- und Inlinehockey-Spieler, der über 500 Ligaspiele in Deutschland
und in der Schweiz absolviert hat. Er spielte in der 1. Liga in Schaffhausen (Schweiz), beim Heilbronner EC, dem
Stuttgarter EC, bei den ESV Balingen-Blue Marlins und den Schwenninger Wild Wings.
Im Jahr 2003 wurde er für die deutsche Inlinehockey Nationalmannschaft nominiert und war auch der Baden Württembergischen Verbandsauswahl im Eishockey eine wertvolle Verstärkung. Auch weist er bereits Auslandserfahrung nach. Im Jahr 2000 war er als Spieler in Sydney bei den Canterburry Eagles in der Super League und den Australian Junior Allstars, 3 Monate in Kanada bei den Humberside Kollegiate in Toronto und 1 Monat bei den Toronto Marlies (Farmteam der Toronto Maple Leafs) eingesetzt.
Neben der Zeit als aktiver Spieler trainierte er meist die Schüler- und Jugendmannschaften bei seinen Clubs. Seine Prüfung zum Trainer- und Schiedsrichter hat er nun endgültig Ende 2004 in der Schweiz (mit offizieller Lizens) abgeschlossen.
Roman Marx wird seine Tätigkeit beim Cazadores Inline Hockey Club Ende Februar 2005 aufnehmen. Ein Jahresvertrag mit der beiderseitigen Möglichkeit zu verlängern wurde abgeschlossen.
Der namibischen Nationalmannschaft, die sich mit ihrem Nationaltrainer Philippe Boudreault für die WM 2005 qualifiziert hat, wird er mit seiner Erfahrung eine wertvolle Unterstützung sein.
Der Cazadores Inline Hockey Club (Spielfläche beim DHPS Sportgelände) wird in diesem Jahr besonderes Augenmerk auf die Ausbildung der Jugendspieler legen. Ein spezielles Förderprogramm für Anfänger in der Altergruppe von 6 - 10 Jahren wird im Club durchgeführt.
Das Programm beeinhaltet ein einwöchiges kostenloses Probetraining, und die Bereitstellung einer kostenlosen hochwertigen Hockey Ausrüstung für den Anfänger. Das Training für dieses Programm wird ab den 28.2.2005 von Montags bis Freitags täglich von 15h30 - 16h30 durchgeführt.
Für die Kinder die nach der Woche Probetraining Interesse an dem Sport gefunden haben bietet der Cazadores Inline Hockey Club reduzierte Mietgliedsbeiträge.
Alle interessierten Kinder, Jugendliche und Eltern können zu den angegebenen Zeiten beim DHPS Sportgelände erscheinen und sich zum Probetraining anmelden.
Die benötigte Ausrüstung steht vor Ort bereit.
Weitere Informationen erhalten alle Interessierten bei Frau Elke Mutavcik.
The BCIHA is pleased to announce that we will again be awarding one $500.00 Scholarship for 2005 to a current Grade 12 student. 2005 will be the third consecutive year that the BCIHA has awarded this Scholarship.
Any player interested in applying for the 2005 Scholarship must Download and submit the Application Package to the BCIHA by June 1, 2005. The Scholarship will be awarded at the Pacific Coast International Tournament in July.
The BCIHA is pleased to take another positive step forwards in the promotion of roller hockey and the opportunity to assist worthy student-athletes on their quest for higher education.
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