Pioneer club takes lead
Mari Jack is a man on a mission. Although small in stature, the diminutive Eastern Highlander, who calls Burns Peak settlement in the Hohola suburb of Moresby home, has taken a different approach to looking for sponsorship to aid his local off-season rugby league club BP Knights.
BP Knights are one of the pioneer clubs of the Hohola off-season rugby league competition, a competion that has been run annually since the early 1990s.
Jack is the chairman of the Koura Iarogaha Community Business, an IPA registered small business that specialises in sub-contracting work. The name, like the inspiration of the enterprise is taken from Jack’s community. Koura Iarogaha is the name of a street in the Burns Peak area.
While other clubs petition business houses to sponsor their teams with the usual jerseys and other gear for players, Jack has gone about his search for aid with a different goal in mind.
He instead is appealling to sponsors to donate in cash or kind to the club so that they can purchase tools and equipment to keep the players, most of whom are unemployed, occupied during the week earning money for their own jerseys and other expenses.
Tools like rakes, bush knives and spades can be used for community projects.
He believed that through this community-based initiative clubs like BP Knights and any others could be more self-reliant and self-sustaining instead of having to find sponsors every season and in the process doing away with the hand out mentality.

30 women in training camp
THE 30 women train-on squad arrived at PNGFA soccer Academy in Lae last Saturday to start a week-long training in preparation for the OFC qualifier against New Zealand in March.
A soccer official said yesterday the women would commence their training this week and would play their first trial game against an U20 boys team from LFA at the PNGFA Academy tomorrow afternoon to find their strength and weaknesses in their respective positions.
Coach Francis Moyap will be taking the women for training and with the assistance of OFC’s women development officer Connie Selby to ensure the women cover all aspects of training.
The Paraqueens will be divided into two teams to play a curtain raiser game to the wash-out National Soccer League match between Welgris Highlanders and Hekari United on Saturday at the PNGFA Academy.
A final squad of 22 will be picked to travel to Port Moresby to undergo intensive training for six weeks in preparations for the opening game against New Zealand on March 8 in Port Moresby.