Through creativity, partnership, and improvised equipment, Namibia’s floorball team has found a curious path to not only play the sport, but to excel and reach the world stage in Turin for the 2025 World Winter Games.
In Namibia, floorball is not the most well-known sport. In fact, competitive teams were almost always concentrated in the nation’s capital, Windhoek. This meant athletes from outside regions were unable to access the coaching and equipment needed to engage in the game. But as interest in this team-based sport grew, Special Olympics Namibia implemented an innovative method to connect with more athletes.
In May 2024, Special Olympics Namibia hosted their National Games. They used this opportunity to introduce all their regions to floorball, through a “skills area” that provided equipment and coaching to demonstrate the basics of the sport. The activation was so popular that the organizers did not have enough equipment to provide for every athlete that expressed interest in learning to play.
A challenge that grew larger after the success of this skills area at the National Games prompted programs across the country to inquire about equipment for interested athletes. The dilemma was that Special Olympics Namibia still relied on the floorball sticks and gear utilized during the 2017 Austria World Games, and simply put, it was not enough to go around.
Namibia does not have a National Floorball Association or Federation, which makes it very difficult to secure equipment through a traditional partnership. To meet the demand of their athletes for functioning equipment that their national team can compete with, Special Olympics Namibia connected with their network of Special Olympics programs across the Africa Region. Another country’s sport director secured secondhand gear and sent these to Special Olympics Namibia, thus supplementing their aging equipment from Austria.
Although this provided a solution for the National team, there were still many athletes across wider regions of Namibia who love floorball, yet didn’t have the equipment to practice and play. Certain programs got creative and made their own sticks out of available materials. This included carved wood, sanded branches, and even repurposed oars.
It is clear these regional teams are ready and hungry for competition and opportunities. Special Olympics National Floorball Games took place in Windhoek in September 2024 with a particularly strong turnout. This led to an outstanding competition that decided the floorball team who would represent Special Olympics Namibia at the World Winter Games in Turin.
Special Olympics Namibia hopes that all athletes understand they are winners for trying so hard, practicing regularly and being so innovative with training equipment. They are indeed brave in the attempt!
The Special Olympics World Winter Games Turin 2025 will be held in Italy from 8 – 15 March, with over 1,500 athletes from more than 100 countries competing across eight sports: alpine skiing, cross-country skiing, DanceSport, figure skating, floorball, short track speed skating, snowboarding, snowshoeing.
