2015 Pacific Games to cater for 28 sports

THE PNG Sports Federation and Olympic Committee, in its capacity as the PNG Pacific Games Association (PNGPGA) to the Pacific Games Council, has announced 28 sports to be on the  programme for the 2015 Pacific Games in Port Moresby.
In line with the Pacific Games Charter the 28 sports are made up of 12 compulsory sports and 16 optional sports. The 16 optional sports were chosen after the PNGPGA had earlier requested 21 sports listed on the Pacific Games Charter as optional sports to justify their inclusion in the 2015 Pacific Games by submitting justification reports which were reviewed and ranked according to a range of criteria.
The sports selected to be on the 2015 Pacific Games sports programme that are compulsory for both men and women are athletics, basketball, football, golf, rugby 7s, swimming, table tennis, tennis, Va’a, beach volleyball, indoor volleyball and weightlifting.
Optional sports for both men and women: bodybuilding, boxing, cricket, hockey, karate, lawn bowls, powerlifting, sailing, shooting, softball, squash, taekwondo and triathlon.
The other sports are netball for women, rugby league 7s for men and touch rugby for men, women and a mixed side.
PNG Pacific Games Association secretary-general Auvita Rapilla said the selection of optional sports would have an impact on Team PNG’s position on the medal table.
“The national government and the people of PNG have made it clear that they want Team PNG to be on top of the medal table at the end of the 2015 Pacific Games similar to what was achieved at the 1991 games.
“This goal is shared by the PNGPGA and the national federations and so we were very conscious of this when making the decision on which optional sports we include on the sports programme.
“We believe the sports selected will give Team PNG the best possible chance of achieving the results wanted in 2015,” she said.
She added that the onus was on the 28 sports to ensure their athletes were properly prepared to succeed.
The PNGPGA and the PNG Sports Foundation will be providing support to the sports through the government funded Grassroots to Gold programme.