Elite schools sport championship launched
The Top Score National Elite Championships was launched in Windhoek on Wednesday evening, aiming to create an elite schools sport tournament. The event, which is being run under the auspices of the Namibia Schools Sport Union, is sponsored by Top Score, powered by Model, driven by Indongo Toyota, and facilitated by Gravity Sport. Shawn Powell […] The post Elite schools sport championship launched appeared first on The Namibian.
Black News 
The Top Score National Elite Championships was launched in Windhoek on Wednesday evening, aiming to create an elite schools sport tournament.
The event, which is being run under the auspices of the Namibia Schools Sport Union, is sponsored by Top Score, powered by Model, driven by Indongo Toyota, and facilitated by Gravity Sport.
Shawn Powell of Gravity Sport at the launch said the aim of the championships is to create a premier elite schools sporting tournament, showcasing elite competition and celebrating schools’ pride.
“The NEC is about much more than winning matches, it’s about bringing together the very best sporting schools from across Namibia on one platform, where the best compete against the very best,” he said.
“For the first time schools will have the opportunity to compete across multiple disciplines and be crowned the ultimate champion sports school of the country,” he said.
Powell said it is also about striving for academic excellence.
“We need to start picking up school sport so that we get the children at a higher level, and so that they realise they have to up their game – not only in the classroom, but also on the sport terrain.
“This tournament is built on a foundation of school pride. It’s about students wearing their school colours with honour again,” he said.
“It’s about representing their schools with passion and creating memories that will last a lifetime. All sport codes will be competing together for a bigger goal. It’s about building a culture where every athlete understands they are competing for something greater and much bigger than themselves – for their schools,” he said.
Powell said community upliftment is a central theme of the tournament.
“Behind every athlete stands a coach, a teacher, a parent, a sponsor, and an entire school community. Where schools compete, communities unite. Rivalries are created, friendships are formed, and support for schools grows stronger.
“Secondly, the NEC creates opportunities. Through this platform, talented athletes will be identified, developed, and given clear pathways to higher levels of competition at a later stage,” he said.
A total of 18 schools across Namibia will compete in the first edition, which will take place in Windhoek from 10 to 12 September at a venue to be determined.
The schools will compete in four different sport codes – football, rugby, hockey and netball – in different age categories from under-15 to under-19, with points awarded in each category that will go towards determining the overall winning school.
Deputy minister of education, innovation, youth, sport, arts and culture Dino Ballotti applauded the initiative, but also called for the national representation of schools.
“It’s truly exciting to be here at this launch of a championship designed to celebrate elite talent and the very best of sporting schools Namibia has to offer.
“I’m not sure how many regions are represented, and as a politician, I’ll always push for more representation. We must try and ensure we have greater representation. It’s not the Republic of Khomas – we must always remember that,” he said.
“As the government and in partnership with the NSSU, we fully support this initiative that creates meaningful opportunities for young people and obviously for the schools as well.
“Sport remains one of the most powerful tools for youth development,” Ballotti said.
He said the government has seven priority areas, with sport being second and youth empowerment third.
“It shows it’s fully aligned with the goals of our administration of government,” he said.
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