Listen to the needs of athletes - Uutoni

Justicia Shipena

The Athletes Commission, under the auspices of the Namibia National Olympic Committee and Commonwealth Games Association (NNOC-CGA) in partnership with the sport ministry, the Namibia Sports Commission and Nust, hosted the first-ever Athletes Forum at university.

Speaking at the event, sport minister Erastus Uutoni, said there is a need to work closer with athletes and listen to their needs as they are the greatest assets.

“It’s therefore vitally important that we have a system that puts the wellbeing and welfare of the athletes first. This system will empower and support athletes to succeed beyond the field of play. It is important that athletes help each other in career transition, education and policies which affect them,” he said.

At the event, athletes learned about anti-doping rules and regulations at international level, were informed about the importance of sports psychology and were introduced to career options available to retired athletes through sport management degrees offered at Nust.

Uutoni further stated that former athletes should remain involved in sports through roles in public relations, sports administration and sports education.

“It is always easier in such instances for an athlete to relate to another athlete,” he said.

Uutoni further urged that parents, educators, administrators, coaches and sponsors educate and remind themselves against the dangers and life-threatening impacts of doping so that we, in turn, can collectively fight against it in our sporting fraternity.

The forum’s aim was to educate exclusive and high-performance athletes and serve as a platform to gather relevant information on how they can improve in their quest for excellence.

According to Gaby Ahrens, Namibia Athletes Commission’s chairperson, the initiative is an important platform to address appropriate issues facing athletes and all other high-performance related factors.

“It is not only aimed at providing information. The aim is also to encourage athletes to become involved in their own development, while understanding their role and that of their coaches in preparation for future international competitions,” she said.

She added that the testing procedure can be stressful for the athlete at an event if they are not aware of the constraints. Preparation is therefore essential in order to mitigate and avoid stressful situations.

The event was graced by well-known international and local speakers representing multiple areas of expertise in sports. World-renowned motivational speaker and sport psychologist, Dr Henning Gericke, highlighted the importance of achieving mental toughness during competition. Zimbabwean Kirsty Coventry, one of Africa’s most successful Olympic athletes was also in attendance.

Namibian athletes such as Collin Benjamin, former international and national soccer player; 2018 Commonwealth Games gold medallists Helalia Johannes; Jonas Junius and double Paralympic gold medallist, Ananias Shikongo, shared their personal journeys to sporting success.

Speaking to The Zone after the forum Kaela Schimming, an athlete for the national girl’s hockey team, said that the forum provided her a platform to learn how she can develop sports in different regions. She also commented on the sports management programme which she thinks is a good initiative as it is opens doors to individuals.

“Something I learned from Dr Gericke was how to mentally prepare myself and how to be mentally stronger,” she said.