The 29th edition of the Marathon Sugar Quinton-Steele Botes (QSB) athletics and training camp kicked off in Windhoek on Tuesday, with over 120 athletes and 43 level one coaches in attendance.
Athletes of various age groups will receive training for field and track events as well as psychological and motivational speaking at the Wanderers Sports Field, which is being leased by the Windhoek Afrikaans Privaatskool from Tuesday to Friday as they prepare for the upcoming athletics season.
Eleven coaches will conduct the training for athletes, while 43 level one coaches will go through theoretical and practical training sponsored by the Namibia National Olympic Committee (NNOC) through the Olympic Solidarity sponsorship.
Event organiser Leoni van Rensburg told Nampa on Tuesday that this year’s camp will be the first that will see level one local coaches receiving training from local trainers alongside the camp.
“The coaches receiving training will get theoretical sessions on the basics of track and field events in the morning while in the afternoon, they will have practical sessions on what they learned in their theoretical classes,” said Van Rensburg, who added that the coaches receiving training will later in the year host the training the trainer’s workshops in their regions.
She added that this year, the Marathon Sugar QSB athletics and training camp attracted coaches and athletes from nine different regions in Namibia.
“We got a sponsorship from Marathon Sugar that is helping us in catering for the athletes transport and accommodation, while coaches travelling from outside the Khomas Region will be catered for by the NNOC. For athletes that are based in Windhoek, we are helping them with transportation as well as lunch during the camp,” she said.
Van Rensburg stated that the training camp is expected to teach athletes new skills that can help them perform better during the new athletics season.
Source: The Namibian Press Agency