• Sport

AGA’s year-end shoot attracts 148 archers nationwide

• 3 Weeks Ago - 2024-10-29 00:00:00

African Genesis Archery (AGA), Namibia’s second-biggest ranking event and final archery shoot of the year, saw 148 archers gather at Windhoek International School (WIS) on Saturday, each aiming to cement their place in the year’s standings.
The numbers were just shy of the year’s largest competition held at St. Georges earlier in the year, when 156 archers from schools nationwide competed.
The competition tested the archers’ marksmanship, endurance and patience, as it kicked off early morning until late afternoon.
Competitors stepped up to the challenge and gave their all on the range, determined to deliver their best shots and secure a place among the last day’s top scorers.

Bull’s Eye Round (max 900 points)
In the Senior Girls category, Lee-Ann Job from Community Hope School claimed gold with an outstanding score of 849, closely followed by Anielka Hayward (848) of Danie Joubert Combined School and Jani de Beer (836) from Windhoek Afrikaans Private School (WAP).
Among the Senior Boys, Ru-Wayne Bezuidenhout of WAP took gold with 869, outscoring his nearest competitors Ashton Deryck Ntsamba (859) of Community Hope School and Duan Kruger (855) from Roots Gymnasium.
The Junior Girls category saw Amelia von Wielligh (Berg-Op Academy) earn 789 to claim the overall title. Central Elite Archery Club teammates Elysia Wildgen (780) and Mwetulela Shaanika (740) took silver and bronze, respectively.
Among the Junior Boys, Willem van der Merwe from Central Elite Archery Club dominated with a score of 853, followed by Moria Private School teammates Luka van Vuuren (829) and Böjorn Bergmann (821).

Animal Round (max 300 points)
This section’s test of skill saw Lee-Ann Job demonstrate her consistency, scoring 278 to lead the Senior Girls again, while Taylieschen Scott from Windhoek High School (275) and Kayla von Wielligh from Berg-Op (271) completed the podium.
Among the Senior Boys, Ashton Deryck Ntsamba came out on top with 283, followed by Ru-Wayne Bezuidenhout (279) and Duan Kruger (278).
Elysia Wildgen (Junior Girls) reversed the order from the Bull’s Eye Round, beating Amelia von Wielligh by scores of 254 against 249, with St. Paul’s College’s Ariadne van Wyk settling for third place with 243.
Willem van der Merwe again led the Junior Boys, scoring 284, with Simon du Plessis from WAP (275) and Samuel Webster from Central Elite Archery Club (269) following behind.

Overall winners
In the overall standings combining both rounds to give a maximum score of 1200, Lee-Ann Job emerged as the senior girls champion with a total of 1127, solidifying her dominance, with Anielka Hayward (1115) as the runner-up and Kayla von Wielligh (1106) in third.
In the Senior Boys events, Ru-Wayne Bezuidenhout claimed the title with 1148, narrowly outscoring Ashton Deryck Ntsamba (1142) and Duan Kruger (1133).
For Junior Girls, Amelia von Wielligh took the lead with 1047, followed by Elysia Wildgen (1034) and Ariadne van Wyk (969).
Willem van der Merwe continued his impressive run, winning the Junior Boys category with a score of 1137, with Luka van Vuuren (1094) and Samuel Webster (1085) close behind.
In the Adult Archery Generation (AAG) divisions, Dominique Bekker triumphed in the women’s section with 833, while Ronelle Raes (822) and Charne Coetzee (813) completed the podium.
Johan Raes topped the AAG Men’s section (836), with Berend Blom (830) and Aiden van Aswegen (819) rounding out the top three.

Hosting world tournament
AGA Namibia president Poenie Weakley praised the dedication and passion of the archers, noting the impressive turnout even during the exam season.
“What an amazing day. Archers from all over Namibia travelled to participate in our last ranking shoot. This just shows how the archers love the sport.
“From AGA’s side, we are very happy and we love our archery family. They enjoyed it, and we are looking forward to next year, as it will also be the year we host the AGA Federation World Tournament from 24 to 26 July,” he noted.
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