Chess elects new board
The Namibian Chess Federation (NCF) elected its new management team on 27 January in Windhoek.
Israel Shilongo is the new president, Rowan van Wyk the vice president, Jonas Iipinge the treasurer, William Kamberipa the secretary, Mclean Handjaba the technical director, Fremantle Kuhanga the development officer and Frieda Lukas the public relations officer.
Shilongo is experienced in Namibian chess administration and served as the outgoing technical director.
Shilongo applauded outgoing president Otto Nakapunda for a job well done during his term of seven years and with this year's theme being 'Chess on the Rise', Shilongo emphasised the need to uplift the standard of tournaments and leagues.
“The league has in the past been used as a good preparation for our strong chess players and improvement from the previous year and I have a mandate to ensure that the standards remain high,” Shilongo stated.
Since the introduction of different open tournaments, the NCF has committed to cover the whole country and recently introduced chess clubs at Oranjemund, Katima Mulilo, Lüderitz and Opuwo to allow NCF to carry out its mandate of establishing chess in all the regions by 2020.
Following a successful all-women tournament during 2017, Shilongo promised that this year the focus was on expanding the number of participants from 50 to 100, including more women participants.
“At the moment one of the biggest challenges that the federation is facing is long-term sponsorships. This means we need to work hard to rebuild relations with our previous sponsors and ensure that more new sponsors come on board,” Shilongo said.
He added that the acquisition of office space for the NCF needed to be tackled soonest.
Shilongo urged his new team to work together with transparency for the good of the sport.
“Publicity and marketing are key areas that will ensure the image of chess in Namibia and that people are aware of the federation's work,” he said.
At the same occasion, Shilongo announced that Namibia will host the African Youth Chess Championship in 2019.
“We need to ensure that our teams will do well by giving them the necessary resources to compete rather than just participate. As the host country, much is expected from us and we should be ready,” he said.
The new NCF management team will serve for the next four years.
LIMBA MUPETAMI
Israel Shilongo is the new president, Rowan van Wyk the vice president, Jonas Iipinge the treasurer, William Kamberipa the secretary, Mclean Handjaba the technical director, Fremantle Kuhanga the development officer and Frieda Lukas the public relations officer.
Shilongo is experienced in Namibian chess administration and served as the outgoing technical director.
Shilongo applauded outgoing president Otto Nakapunda for a job well done during his term of seven years and with this year's theme being 'Chess on the Rise', Shilongo emphasised the need to uplift the standard of tournaments and leagues.
“The league has in the past been used as a good preparation for our strong chess players and improvement from the previous year and I have a mandate to ensure that the standards remain high,” Shilongo stated.
Since the introduction of different open tournaments, the NCF has committed to cover the whole country and recently introduced chess clubs at Oranjemund, Katima Mulilo, Lüderitz and Opuwo to allow NCF to carry out its mandate of establishing chess in all the regions by 2020.
Following a successful all-women tournament during 2017, Shilongo promised that this year the focus was on expanding the number of participants from 50 to 100, including more women participants.
“At the moment one of the biggest challenges that the federation is facing is long-term sponsorships. This means we need to work hard to rebuild relations with our previous sponsors and ensure that more new sponsors come on board,” Shilongo said.
He added that the acquisition of office space for the NCF needed to be tackled soonest.
Shilongo urged his new team to work together with transparency for the good of the sport.
“Publicity and marketing are key areas that will ensure the image of chess in Namibia and that people are aware of the federation's work,” he said.
At the same occasion, Shilongo announced that Namibia will host the African Youth Chess Championship in 2019.
“We need to ensure that our teams will do well by giving them the necessary resources to compete rather than just participate. As the host country, much is expected from us and we should be ready,” he said.
The new NCF management team will serve for the next four years.
LIMBA MUPETAMI
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