• Archery

Elite archers crowned at inaugural IFAA Indoor Nationals

• 2 Days Ago 16 October 2024

The country’s top archers tested their marksmanship in the Archery Association of Namibia’s (AAN) first International Field Archery Association (IFAA) and World Archery (WA) Indoor Nationals, as well as the Regional Championships in Windhoek last weekend.

The competition at The Steps Basement in Grove Street brought together 25 archers from Windhoek Archery Club (WAC), Swakopmund Archery Club and Atlantis Archery Club from Walvis Bay, which faced off to crown the national champions in various male and female classes.

In the southern regional championship, the Namibians’ totals were in competition with South Africa and Zimbabwe.

On Sunday, debutants Windhoek Archery hosted the first IFAA indoor nationals, where archers shot all IFAA styles at IFAA five spot and single spot faces, each shooting 60 arrows for a total score of 600.



VMBH-R, AFFU winners

In the Veteran Male Bow Hunter Recurve (VMBH-R) division, uncontested Lutz Wahlers was crowned the national champion with a score of 493.

He brought some humour to the podium, reflecting on his solitary position in the category. “I am the only bushman on the plot, shooting with a stick and string (traditional archery equipment). Nobody else wants to join me,” Wahlers said with a chuckle.

Despite this, he is optimistic about the growth he is seeing in the sport. “It's great to see so many people joining in with the IFAA. It seems like the sport is really starting to grow again.”

In the Adult Female Freestyle Unlimited (AFFU), Babette Taljaard exhibited an outstanding 599 score, beating silver medalist Jacqueline Coetzee (588), who narrowly edged out bronze medalist Ilana Malan (588) on a count-out.

Taljaard expressed delight over her performance. “I am very satisfied with my close-to-perfection achievement,” she remarked.



AMFU, AMBU winners

Meanwhile, Jannie Meuwesen exhibited complete dominance in the Adult Male Freestyle Unlimited (AMFU) division (600), surging past Louan Groenewald (599) and Eugene Thyunsma (571).

Meuwesen, a two-time world title holder who also won Saturday’s indoor national and regional championships, expressed pride in scooping two gold medals in both categories. “We got a double indoor shoot for the weekend. I am very happy with my achievement,” he said.

The Adult Male Bowhunter Unlimited (AMBU) division saw Henk van Blerk crowned champion (592) against Marinus Kruger (557) and Stephan Meyer (552).

Reflecting on his achievement, Van Blerk quipped about securing the gold medal “by accident”. “Nonetheless, it feels good to be back in the game. I've been out for quite some time. It was really good getting to shoot with some old faces,” he said.



YAMFU, Cub winners

Evan Meyer was also uncontested as the winner of the Young Adult Male Freestyle Unlimited (YAMFU) class with a 575 score.

He said: “Winning is very exciting. The shoot was a lot of fun, a bit stressful, but yeah, a lot of fun. It's always fun to shoot.”

In the Cub division, Janko du Plessis reigned supreme (590) ahead of his sole challenger Rainar Kruger (572).

Du Plessis said he enjoyed the event. “It feels nice to have a little bit of competition for a change.”



Saturday winners

Saturday’s indoor nationals and regional championships results, each scored out of 600, were combined to give a 1200 maximum.

These totals were then measured against South Africa and Zimbabwe on the southern regional rankings, determining the overall winner in each category among the three countries.

Recurve Barebow Master Male (RBMM 50): 1 Lutz Wahlers (992).

Compound Master Women (CMW 50): 1 Ilana Malan (1106), 2 Marion Hubner (264, did not participate in the regional championship).

Compound Women (CW): 1 Babette Taljaard (1139), 2 Jacqueline Coetzee (1110), 3 Bianca Karsten (507, did not compete in the regionals).

Compound Master Male (CMM 50): 1 Groenewald (1167), 2 Sanders Oberholzer (544, did not compete in the regionals), 3 Mauritz Hoff (478, didn’t participate in the regionals).

Compound Men (CM): 1 Jannie Meuwesen (1169), 2 Mynhardt Beukes (558), 3 Henk van Blerk (556).

Compound Women Open (CWO): 1 Danette Pretorius (601).

Compound Men Under-21 (CM U21): 1 Evan Meyer (1056).

Compound Men Under-13 (CM U13): 1 Janco du Plessis (969).

Compound Men Under-10 (CM U10): 1 Rainer Kruger (524).

Compound Men Open (CMO): 1 Jan-Lotz du Toit (1013), 2 De-Villiers Visser (916).

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