A family-oriented sport
PGKA showcasing Namibian inline hockey
This variant of hockey is greatly enjoyed by the youth and allows them to showcase great skills.
Pama Golden Knights Academy (PGKA) for inline hockey hosted its third tournament last week. Taking place from Tuesday, 14 June, to Sunday, 19 June, in Windhoek, the competition saw players five PGKA teams travelling to compete and showcase their talent - with their families supporting and cheering them on. This is the third of five tournaments that will take place later this year for the national inline hockey programme.
Divisions ranged from under-eight, with about 500 people in attendance. More than 200 games were played, which kept the competition on a high for everyone attending.
PGKA owns five inline hockey clubs in Windhoek, which include the PGKA Warriors, Badgers and Kamikaze teams. Other teams are the Coastal Pirates from Swakopmund and the Scorpions from Otjiwarongo.
Current chairman of the PGKA Warriors, Dave Hammond said the tournament observed great competition amongst the players, showing that they truly made an impact. Players have been training extensively on weekends with two months dedicated to practice and taking part in national training camps.
He added that many of the players will be travelling overseas this year to compete against other international teams.
“We see how well their hard work paid off.”
Hammond described the sport as a combination of soccer, basketball and ice hockey put on roller skates. “It is a very team-oriented sport which requires a lot of strategy and high impact skill with physical strength. We all play in an inline skate which has four wheels on a row. There are four on four players and a goalkeeper. The open players - also known as the leads - play two 15-minute periods,” he explained.
Windhoek Gymnasium learner Aron Schultz is eight years old and has been playing inline hockey for about four years. He currently plays for the Badgers team in Windhoek.
“I made three new friends and I really enjoy scoring goals,” he said.
Encouraging those who would like to join PGKA, Hammond said the sport gives players a lot of exposure, with the opportunity to meet wonderful new people from the rest of the world.
“It does not matter what race or gender you are; this sport can be played by almost everyone. We have different divisions to make everyone feel welcome and can be considered as a family-oriented sport in Namibia,” he said.
Divisions ranged from under-eight, with about 500 people in attendance. More than 200 games were played, which kept the competition on a high for everyone attending.
PGKA owns five inline hockey clubs in Windhoek, which include the PGKA Warriors, Badgers and Kamikaze teams. Other teams are the Coastal Pirates from Swakopmund and the Scorpions from Otjiwarongo.
Current chairman of the PGKA Warriors, Dave Hammond said the tournament observed great competition amongst the players, showing that they truly made an impact. Players have been training extensively on weekends with two months dedicated to practice and taking part in national training camps.
He added that many of the players will be travelling overseas this year to compete against other international teams.
“We see how well their hard work paid off.”
Hammond described the sport as a combination of soccer, basketball and ice hockey put on roller skates. “It is a very team-oriented sport which requires a lot of strategy and high impact skill with physical strength. We all play in an inline skate which has four wheels on a row. There are four on four players and a goalkeeper. The open players - also known as the leads - play two 15-minute periods,” he explained.
Windhoek Gymnasium learner Aron Schultz is eight years old and has been playing inline hockey for about four years. He currently plays for the Badgers team in Windhoek.
“I made three new friends and I really enjoy scoring goals,” he said.
Encouraging those who would like to join PGKA, Hammond said the sport gives players a lot of exposure, with the opportunity to meet wonderful new people from the rest of the world.
“It does not matter what race or gender you are; this sport can be played by almost everyone. We have different divisions to make everyone feel welcome and can be considered as a family-oriented sport in Namibia,” he said.
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