By HENRY MORABANG
THE leading commercial bank in the Pacific, ANZ Bank Pacific, know how South Pacific islanders love their sports, it is something they excel at.
The Australian bank had always been excited to show their support and to be part of the Pacific peoples’ sporting successes and achievements.
For the past 12 years, ANZ Bank Pacific had continuously injected substantial amount of money in partnership with International Tennis Federation in sponsoring the ANZ mini tennis programmes in schools in the region, including Papua New Guinea.
PNG Tennis Federation was one of the many beneficiaries under this programme where many of its budding stars have now realised their dreams. The ANZ Bank Pacific-sponsored tennis development programme has created a pathway for young budding tennis star to pursue their dreams.
Last Saturday, ANZ Bank PNG managing director Garry Tunstall launched the PNG programme with a US$1,400 (K4,200) funding.
Coach Vere Tere-Apisah and her husband/coach Kwalum Apisah will be conducting the 2008 programme in PNG on behalf of Oceania Tennis Federation and the International Tennis Federation.
The mini tennis programme is founded on regular coaching sessions being conducted at several designated community schools over a 30-week period. Games, drills, basic skills and the ANZ Bank serve are taught at these sessions, and with the special equipment it can be taught anywhere without a tennis court.
The readily identifiable ìbetterî players from these sessions are encouraged to attend the ANZ Stars Comp and coaching sessions on Saturday mornings at the tennis centre. This is part of ANZ’s transition to tennis programme.
The ANZ mini tennis programme has a success story in Papua New Guinea where some of the players achieve their dreams.
The inaugural winner of the first ITF scholarship Lawrence Tere Apisah attended the regional training centre at Lautoka ITF House in Fiji and then won the tennis scholarship to attend New Mexico Military Institute. He is now an army officer with the British Army while team mate Kris Kano is an Economics graduate from the University of Papua New Guinea.
Other Papua New Guineans who also benefitted under the programme included Nicole Angat who was a former student and now assistant coach at ITF Regional College in Fiji.
Two other students who graduated last year from ITF College have won tennis scholarship to pursue their careers – Guria Korinihona who is studying at the University of Hawaii in Honolulu, and Jackie Lahari now schooling at Collin County Community College, Dallas, Texas.
Another player Abigail Tere was the star of the Australian tour, winning two singles events early this year was then being awarded a scholarship by Australian tennis great Margaret Court to study and train in Australia in 2008.
Other three PNG players still studying at Regional Training Centre are Marcia Tere Apisah, Lorish Puluspene and Robin Morove.
The Oceania Tennis Federation was formed as a regional association of ITF in 1993 to foster the development of tennis in the Oceania region.
Over the years there have been a number of additions to the programme. Early on it was seen that children wanted to play as well as learn to hit the ball so Star Competitions designed by ITF development officer Dan O’Connell were introduced.
To encourage a greater number of the youngsters to move on to full court tennis a transition to tennis programme was introduced in 2004 with some seed funding from the ANZ Bank sponsorship.
Oceania Tennis Federation (OTF) development officer Lency Tenai assumed the title of ANZ Bank Pacific tennis ambassador and during his visits had promoted the ANZ Bank programme conducting lessons and training teachers and coordinators.
The programme has also benefitted from the two yearly grants of equipment from the ITF to developing nations. This equipment and nets supplied by Tennis Australia have been utilised by the national co-ordinators to provide sets to the schools in their countries.
Some years ago, OTF and ITF agreed to a plan of preparing our Regional Training College (RTC) players academically for possible USA tennis scholarships as an alternative for those not at a standard to attempt the professional circuit.
If our players obtain a USA scholarship, they move to a higher level of competition that will still prepare them for possible membership on our Pacific Oceania Davis Cup and Fed Cup Teams.
And if our players also gain a university degree, we will have assisted in providing them with a brighter future.
Jackie Lahari is on her way to achieving both this dreams by enrolling at Collin County Community College in Texas. And it is hoped many more young Papua New Guineans will follow with the help of stakeholders like ANZ Bank Pacific.