Central, New Ireland governments support their athletes

THE Central and New Ireland provincial governments responded favourably to requests to partner Athletics PNG in developing theirathletes.
New Ireland funded two promising young athletes to join the national squad training at the National Sports Institute in Goroka for the school holiday period. Multi-event athlete Valentine Buskens and sprinter Lionel Lens, who impressed at the national championships, were invited to join the camp if the province could support them.
Central government also made a financial contribution to assist eight of its athletes attend the camp. They are Roland Hure, Shadrick Tansi, Lakona Gerega, Thoa Ora, Terrence Talio, Ravu Noka, Karo Iga and Leka Wagi.
Athletics PNG president Tony Green said that from the limited funding available for team preparations, sports had to prioritise to enable more athletes to join the programme they reached out in the provinces to assist.
“For established athletes, being part of this intensive training programme will improve their chances of making the team and for the new athletes it is an opportunity for the coaches to assess their potential for the future. For the newly-identified athletes, it is also good experience for them to join the camp where they can learn so much about training,” Green said.