KONEDOBU Kanu Klab (ë3K’) received an early ëChristmas gift’ from one of the country’s premier shipping companies, Steamships Shipping, last Thursday. The company announced a Gold Sponsorship package worth K7,000 at its headquarters in Port Moresby, where a cheque was handed over to 3K’s president Michael Henao by Steamships Shipping’s national marketing manager Gary Seddon.
Seddon said Steamships Shipping was pleased to support va’a (or outrigger canoeing) since Steamships’ Shipping – like countless Papua New Guineans – shared a passion for the ocean.
In thanking Steamships Shipping for their support, Henao said there was immense potential for competitive outrigger paddling in the country, since millions of Papua New Guineans already paddle outrigger canoes across our lakes, rivers and seas every day.
Henao said out of the 15 paddlers who represented Papua New Guinea at this year’s Hamilton Island Cup in Australia and the XIII South Pacific Games in Samoa, five are members of 3K. ìWith that experience and with the Gold Sponsorship support from Steamships Shipping, 2008 will be a big year for Papua New Guinean paddling and for 3K in particularî he said.
Henao said that next year the Klab intended to send a crew to one of the biggest outrigger canoe regattas in the world, the Hamilton Island Cup in Australia, as it would be fantastic exposure for the Papua New Guinean paddlers. He said even though the sport was still in its infancy in Papua New Guinea, the tremendous potential meant that the Klab would work hard to promote the sport and its rich history of tradition and etiquette throughout the country.