Stop holding athletes back - Kawende to schools

Namibia Chess Federation (NCF) Zone 8 chairperson Petrus Kawende has lamented Kavango East and West schools’ long processes for allowing learners to participate in local competitions.

He made the remarks following the third leg of the International Chess Federation (FIDE)-rated Bank Windhoek Rundu Open Grand Prix, which he said could not get maximum participation from school learners as their respective schools are holding them back.

The competition was held last weekend at Rundu Senior Secondary School and featured 46 players competing across the open, women’s, junior and cadet sections.

It was attended by learners from the hosting school, Sarusungu Combined School, debutant Maria Mwengere Senior Secondary School, Friendly Private School, Jafet Haiyambo Primary School, Zealous Tutorial Centre, Ndama Combined School and Rudolf Ngondo Primary School.



‘Only reach out when learners do well’

Speaking to Sport Wrap, Kawende said he has been moving from school to school in Rundu, urging them to register their learners in chess tournaments and requesting to coach the learners to play chess.

However, most schools have supposedly been reluctant to engage, citing a lack of documentation granting permission for the learners to play in chess competitions.

“I believe the schools lack knowledge of the fact that permission for local competition participation only needs to come from parents, and schools need to help in this regard - the same way they do when learners play local football or netball competitions,” he said.

He further argued that the sort of permission document the schools are requesting from the NCF is only necessary when competitions are in different towns and learners would need to travel.

To drive the point home, Kawende said when Zone 8 hosted the NCF’s Bank Windhoek Zonal School Chess Individual Championships qualifiers, he wrote to Kavango East education director Christine Shilima for permission.

“She granted permission to host the competition on 8 February because winners stood a chance to advance to Windhoek for the next stage of the competition. Engaging the director was something the schools were supposed to do for their respective learners, [as it ultimately benefits the school]. The only time the schools reach out and notice chess is when their learners do well at competitions,” he said.



‘We need to work together’

Kawende urged schools to come on board and support their learners interested in taking up chess, and encourage more participation from learners, as chess develops problem-solving skills and strategic thinking.

“Most of these learners reach out wanting to play, but they cannot do so without the support of the school and parents. We need to work together to develop these young minds who can positively contribute to society with these skills,” he urged.

Echoing the same sentiments, NCF vice president Max Nitzbron said: “This long communication channel deprives learners of opportunities just because a school is reluctant. Permission from the NCF [and education director] is only necessary when learners are travelling somewhere - not when it is a local tournament.”



Winners of the competition across various sections were:

Open section: 1 Petrus Kawende (Unam Chess Club), 2 Shaun Mumbula (Unam Chess Club), 3 Kreigor Simpire (Chimichanga Sikanduko).

Women’s section: 1 Kamina Claudia (Sarusungu CS), 2 Alpo Frieda (Friendly PS), 3 Gariseb Rene (Sarusungu).

Junior: 1 Likuwa Paulus (Rundu SSS), 2 Manuel Elias (Jafet Haiyambo), 3 Siwoko Jacob (Ndama CS).

Cadet: 1 Uncontested Mathias Thindhimba (Rudolf Ngondo).

Best local player award: Moyo Simon (Jafet Haiyambo).

Zone 8’s next tournament is set for 30 April, with the chess league scheduled to commence on 2 May.

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