Fifty years of Kalahari tennis

Helge Denker - Against a backdrop of camel-thorns and red sand, the Blumfelde Tennis Club celebrated its fiftieth anniversary on Saturday 22 April.

Blumfelde, located around 200 kilometres south-east of Windhoek in vast Kalahari savannah, might not appear on standard maps of Namibia. Its tennis club, though, has made a positive mark in the Mariental district and is fiercely proud of half a century of playing the great racquet sport.

It is one of very few rural tennis clubs still active in Namibia. A couple of decades ago, tennis clubs were a prominent feature of many rural settlements. Today, most of these courts are in a bad state of disrepair and overgrown with weeds.

At Blumfelde, tennis is played most Saturdays right throughout the year. Some members drive more than 100 kilometres one way to play a few games and afterwards socialise with their neighbours and friends.

For their big anniversary, Blumfelde sent out invitations to both urban and rural clubs in various parts of the country. The Helmeringhausen Tennis Club did not shun the drive of over 350 km from the fringes of the Namib to the Kalahari.

Founded over 60 years ago, Helmeringhausen presumably holds the record for the oldest active tennis club in rural Namibia and was a very fitting guest club for the celebration at Blumfelde. It was especially great to see many young players taking part on the Helmeringhausen squad.

The day turned out to be a true tennis-fest. Twenty-four players of various ages and skill levels ensured continuous action on three courts for more than 10 hours, demonstrating the boundless enthusiasm for the sport amongst these farming communities.

Yet a day like this is not only about sport, but also about fostering community cohesion. On the sidelines over good food and drink, people discussed farming, sport, world politics and life.

The Blumfelde Tennis Club was started in 1967 by neighbouring farmers Mani Schulz, Werner Heinz and Jorrie Jordaan. They initially just cleared and levelled a patch of ground and played on sand courts. Later, concrete courts were installed, with a stoep for spectators who socialised over coffee and cake.

Today, a fully-furnished clubhouse allows members to round off their Saturdays in style.

Bank Windhoek and Namibia Breweries generously contributed towards the costs of the anniversary event. At the evening braai, Bank Windhoek Gobabis branch manager Pieter von Solms and his wife Claudia were there in person to grill superb beef steaks for everyone – a commitment to support that was greatly appreciated by all.

During his speech, Blumfelde Tennis Club president Jens Müller bestowed honorary membership on born-and-bred Kalahari farmer Heinrich Förtsch, one of the club’s longest-standing players, who was still out on the court most Saturdays quite recently, at the age of 77.

Due to the demand for court time, only doubles matches were played, generally in mixed teams. Games on the outer courts were social encounters, where all players swapped teams in a round-robin mix and match.

In total over 70 sets of tennis were played on the day. Centre court was reserved for competitive matches between the two clubs. Blumfelde started very strong and by lunch had tallied up a good lead. Once they had settled into their surroundings, however, the visitors mounted a comeback. Their players won a streak of matches in the later afternoon and things began to get close.

The final count when bad light stopped play: 14 sets to 12 for Blumfelde. The two clubs have already made preliminary plans for a rematch. Great times want to be repeated. - Text and photos by Helge Denker