Athletics Namibia (AN) oversees activities and affairs of athletics in Namibia, according to laws and rules governing sports in Namibia and rules and regulations of World Athletics. AN strives to develop into a professional and credible organization providing platforms to all Namibians to develop and showcase their athletic talents at levels appropriate to them. AN’s core responsibility is to ensure the development of athletics and athletes in Namibia and become competitive in the world and positively impact lives and the health of Namibians. Discussions between the South West Africa Amateur Athletics Association (SWAAAA) and the Government of South West Africa, culminated in the provision of funds for the Windhoek Municipality to build the Windhoek Stadium, now known as the Independence Stadium, where the facilities would be available for everyone.
Organised athletics in Namibia dates back as far as 1916.
During this period, the Windhoek Amateur Athletic and Boxing Association existed.
After that, the sport slowly expanded with competitions between the various towns taking place every two years from the late 1920’s. The advent of the Second World War soon put a stop to all the athletic activities between towns and a sad period in the history of athletics in this country came into being. Discussions between the South West Africa Amateur Athletics Association (SWAAAA) and the Government of South West Africa, culminated in the provision of funds for the Windhoek Municipality to build the Windhoek Stadium, now known as the Independence Stadium, where the facilities would be available for everyone.
Winners never quit and quitters never win.
With the independence of Namibia approaching, it became obvious that ties with South Africa would no longer be possible on the scale as had been the norm for many years. This led to a call for the SWAAAA to sever ties with South Africa. The call was ignored and on 13 January 1990, the Namibia Amateur Athletic Union came into being and took over the duties as the governing body for athletics in Namibia.
For a number of years, the Namibia Amateur Athletic Union, as the governing body for athletics in Namibia, toyed with the idea of changing from a club base to a regional base. The main line of thought here was for the regions to take control and management of their own areas and for the national body to be in an advisory capacity to be called upon as and when required and to look after international matters. For a number of years, the Namibia Amateur Athletic Union, as the governing body for athletics in Namibia, toyed with the idea of changing from a club base to a regional base. The main line of thought here was for the regions to take control and management of their own areas and for the national body to be in an advisory capacity to be called upon as and when required and to look after international matters.
After much thought and soul searching a Constitutional Reform Committee was formed during November 1999 to look into the required changes that would make the path to regional representation and control easier. This committee completed its work in mid-2000 and at the Annual Congress of the Namibia Amateur Athletic Union the amended Constitution was presented and accepted. The amendments changed the membership from club to regions. The political regional demarcations provided ideal structure for membership to Athletics Namibia. As a further action toward modernization, and in line with modern day thinking, the word “amateur” has been dropped and the new name of “ATHLETICS NAMIBIA” accepted. This came into effect immediately after the decision had been taken at the Annual General Congress of 24 November 2001. Discussions between the South West Africa Amateur Athletics Association (SWAAAA) and the Government of South West Africa, culminated in the provision of funds for the Windhoek Municipality to build the Windhoek Stadium, now known as the Independence Stadium, where the facilities would be available for everyone.
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