Athletics

Athletics (Track & Field) is finally over- Hallelujah!  After our two schools held their Interhouse  ompetitions to select our best learners, Kevin's school hosted the Zonal competition (think of a league competition) for the high schools in the area, and then my school hosted the Omaheke Regional competition.  So Kevin and I really got a good glimpse into the inner workings of these types of events.  (The schools rotate hosting these competitions so they only do it once every 5-7 years, so lucky us..!)  Those 2 days turned out to be less disorganized than we anticipated, perhaps partially as a result of our contribution, so that was a relief.  Still many hours went into being prepared for all this, so now that we're finished, we have more time and energy for other commitments again.

After the Regional competitions comes the big National competition in Windhoek at the end of this month for athletes from all of Namibia's 13 regions to compete in.  And we just heard that 1 learner from each of our schools will compete!  That's not a lot, but still it's something.

As for the actual running by the athletes, Kevin and I were pretty disappointed at the lack of effort and heart.  Many of the kids would not finish, either by not showing up to compete, dropping out in the middle of the race, or allowing themselves to collapse on the track.  Many would slow down before even crossing the finish line, especially if there was no other runner nearby or they were not in first or second place.  And many, many of the girls who finished would do so in tears and refuse to walk, resulting in friends or family or officials basically carrying them to the nearby ambulance for medical attention.  And if you ask us, it was exactly that that the girls wanted: attention.  Pretty sure girls from the States are tougher than that!  Anyway, we realize that it's complicated and the learners are not to blame for this kind of behavior so much as wider cultural norms.