For most people Namibia is synonymous to sand, dunes, 4 x 4 and the Etosha.    Telling anyone that the All Africa Water ski championships for  2010 is hosted in Namibia has led to the same reaction :  “Really, where is the water?”  Little do they know that the Von Bach dam is one of the most beautiful dams in the Southern hemisphere. The Von Bach dam lies just outside Okahandja on the outskirts of the Auas mountains in a game park which covers 4 300 ha.  The dam has a capacity of 50 million cubic meters.  We were fortunate to see a few kudu at dusk coming to the water edge for their daily drink.
With the competition starting on Thursday 1 April (no there were no fools), most competitors and families arrived on Wednesday 31 March and settled themselves in their tents for a weekend filled with skiing, wakeboarding, great food and loads of fun.  Each of the competitors had the opportunity to test the water prior to the start of the Namibian Open championships.  The competition kicked off with tricking on Thursday afternoon.  At the break of dawn on Friday morning the first skiers were on the water for their first round of slalom.  Although it was not a great start for some of the youngsters, many of the older competitors had a good round of slalom.  One of the highlights of the day was when the wakeboarders took to the water and entertained the spectators with world class performances – real acrobats on water!
On Friday night the competition was opened in a truly Olympic style with boats arriving at the jetty with burning torches.  The youngest member of each team had the honour of carrying the flaming torch and lit the All Africa tournament flame (this flame burned for the duration of the games).  Each country sung their National Anthem while their flag was hoisted – and then the party started ……..!!!!
On Saturday morning at 07:00 the tension in the air was touchable – it is the start of the  All Africa Championships.  Everyone tried their best, and while a few competitors were disappointed with their performances two long standing All Africa records were smashed by Eamon van der Merwe boys under 14 and Leandra le Forestier in the category women open 1.  The jump event had many parents chewing their nails as their children approached for their jump and Simon Fairbank had a spectacular fall on Sunday with everyone jumping up to see if he is OK – luckily he was.
And who said Hawaii is not in Namibia?!  With the entertainment and bar area beautifully decorated for the Hawaiian theme party the tone was set for a “lekker” jol.  While the wakeboard team jumped and danced to the tune of HOIT the older “omies and tannies” rocked the night away on the 70’s and 80’s music with flowers round their necks.
On Sunday night it was the prize giving for the All Africa championships and South Africa walked away as the winners.  It was also an honour to have  Mr. Kuno Ritschard, International President of Waterski and Wake Board Federation  present at the awards evening.  Most inspiring was his comment that this was one of the most joyfull events he attended as he witnessed that the whole family of each skier was involved – something very important in modern life.
All the new team members of the South African team were initiated on Sunday night (true South African style) and are still battling to get rid of the pink spray paint.
On Monday morning the last round of slalom for the Namibian open took place (those without a headache took part) and a few South Africans achieved their personal best scores in the event.  The competition ended at 11:00 where after the prize-giving for the Namibian Open was done and each and every official and worker were thanked for their contribution to make the weekend a time to remember. Thank you to Namibia for organizing a fantastic competition and great party. -Jasper Schutte

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