Abel elected to surf body

SURFING Association Papua New Guinea Inc (SAPNG) president and co-founder Andrew Abel recently returned from the inaugural Oceania Surfing Federation Inc (OSF) meeting of 12 surfing member nations of the Pacific including Australia and New Zealand facilitated by Andrew Minouge (CEO of the Pacific Games Council) and supported by Kym Crane (director of Surfing Australia high performance training centre).
The meeting on Sept 6-7 was staged at Surfing Australia High Performance Training Centre in Casurina, NSW.
The meeting involved the drafting of the constitution and strategic plans of the Oceania Surfing Federation Inc and appointment of its executives for four-year term.
Abel expressed his satisfaction in the formation of the Oceania Surfing Federation Inc and what it meant for SAPNG and the other member nations of Oceania, giving rise to greater exposure for PNG to leverage its surfing athletes to train at the Surfing Australia High Performance Centre in preparation for SAPNG national surfing titles, annual PNG Kumul World Longboard Championship with the World Surf League, Oceania Surfing Federation Championships and surfing as a sport taking its place in the Olympics in 2020 in Japan.
Abel said the formation of the Oceania Surfing Federation Inc would be the opportunity for SAPNG to host between the Pacific Games an Oceania Surfing Championship event riding off the back of the planned PNG World Longboard Championship events with a cross-cultural surfing event including representation of indigenous surfers from New Zealand and Australia raising the profile of PNG as a favourable surfing and tourism destination.
Oceania Surfing Federation executive: President – Carl Probert (Fiji), Vice-President – Andrew Abel, (SAPNG), Vice-President – Russel Ritchie (NZ), Secretary – John Philip (Fiji), Treasurer – Peter Lonergan (Surfing Australia High Performance Centre), Ordinary Members – Stef Mahuk (Vanuatu), Jake White – (Surfing Australia High Performance Centre).