SAIMSA Games in full swing at the coast

The Southern Africa Inter-Municipal Sport Association (SAIMSA) Games should not be seen as mere sport, but as a tool to promote development and to ensure participation in local authority recreation initiatives.
Deputy Minister of Regional and Local Government, Housing and Rural Development, Priscilla Beukes said this during the opening of the games here on Sunday.
The games commenced on September 22, and will close on September 27.
It is hosted at different sports venues in Swakopmund and Walvis Bay.
Beukes explained that the development of sport is of great importance, as it assists the development of the individual in terms of health, physical fitness and in life as a whole.
“Sports development leads to economic development, where individuals can make a career out of sports and thus relieve social deprivation and provide lifelong skills,” she said.
Beukes added that this sports competition provides an opportunity for the participants of other countries to deepen their understanding of Namibia and its people.
The 2013 SAIMSA Games are celebrated under the theme 'Uniting Contrast', which aims to bring together local authorities from neighbouring countries to compete against each other in different sports disciplines.
This is the first time the SAIMSA Games are held in the tourist town of Swakopmund since its inception in 2009.
Forty-eight municipalities in Namibia, South Africa, Botswana, Lesotho, Zambia and Swaziland are competing against each other in football, netball, volleyball, pool, darts, table tennis, beach soccer, beach volleyball, touch rugby, a 10km fun walk, marathon, fishing, lawn bowling and golf.

SWAKOPMUND-NAMPA