Basketball initiative set up for Kutubu youths

SOUTHSTAR Sports Development Association hosted a week-long workshop on basketball coaching, refereeing and rules in Kutubu.
The workshop was an initiative by the association aimed to bring training opportunities to youths in the remote areas of Kutubu, which also recorded 30 participants.
Association director Timothy Mako said the main objective of the workshop was to develop sporting talent and expose them at the provincial and national level.
“With support from ExxonMobil PNG, we held a basketball training programme with young men and women from Kutubu Moran Youth Development Foundation,” Mako said.
“We also taught technical skills training, refereeing, coaching, elite skills and administration.
“Besides that, we incorporate awareness on health and social issues like gender-based violence and HIV/AIDS, into the workshop.
“It is important to develop an understanding of these issues and promote the importance of staying healthy.”
According to Mako, the association has also been part of another ExxonMobil Foundation-sponsored programme, known as Grassroots Skills Training, which is aimed at providing capacity building for coaches and groups to integrate a holistic approach to their sporting initiatives.
Mako said the association would run another training programme with the Komo Rugby League Association in Hela.
It was also one of the criterion’s asked of Komo Rugby League by the Papua New Guinea Rugby Football League in order to meet the national governing body’s standards.