Childhood goal turns into reality for mum

The National Sports

Name: Julienne Leka-Maliaki
Age: 48
Province: Central
Sport: Netball

Playing career
MY netball aspirations began as a nine-year-old whilst attending Iopara Primary School in Kupiano, Abau, where netball was the only sport for girls and women in Central.
The dream of one day representing Papua New Guinea was planted in my mind and since then, I saw myself growing in the sport in various parts of the country, including in Kimbe, West New Britain, Laiagam, Enga, and Port Moresby where my dad taught as a high school teacher.
In 1988 at the age of 17, I made a breakthrough and got selected to represent PNG at the inaugural Under-21 World Youth Cup in Canberra, Australia.
Since then, I never looked back and went on to represent PNG at the U21 World Youth Cup (twice), Senior World Cup (three times), Mini Games (three) and Pacific Games (three).
In 2003, at the age of 32, I played my final representative game at the Pacific Games in Suva, Fiji, and retired after this event.
I took a break and in 2005, I was asked to be part of the Netball PNG executive committee as a stand-in secretary under the presidency of Emily Taule. At the age of 39, I became the president of Netball PNG in 2010 — a position I held up until Sept 21 this year.
So in total, I’ve spent 12 years in administration at Netball PNG.

Board achievements
My journey as president has been a mixed one with many challenges, sleepless nights and uncertainty over the future of the spor — particularly when we had to operate on a voluntary basis for all these years.
When I took over as president, we had to start from scratch, basically building the governance and foundational structures of Netball PNG, including reviewing and replacing an old constitution and enacting policies to support the new constitution.
In parallel with this, we had to rebuild the profile and brand of netball, and re-engage with stakeholders and partners which meant we had to put in place a strategic plan to drive the sport.
It took a lot of energy and effort especially when my new team had to clear a lot of legacy issues, and restoring credibility and trust among stakeholders and partners.
To manage a sport on a voluntary basis is not an easy task, as it comes with a lot of personal sacrifices, and dealing with many issues — including managing stakeholder expectations and people — while staying focused on our vision.
As the head of the sport, I have had some personal challenges, including critics and perceptions.
So I’ve been at some of the lowest points in my life for what is supposed to be my No.1 passion.
However, it comes with the job and we either break or push on and I chose the latter.
But despite this, I’ve stayed focused on the bigger picture because I could see better days ahead for the sport and withstood all the pressure around me because of my sheer passion and love of the game. I am grateful for the experience and knowledge gained from netball as this has potentially set me up for better opportunities in the future.
I am happy to see that in nine years, we have been able to undertake the following milestones and achievements.

  • Strategic plans for 2016-2018 and 2019-2023;
  • Fully audited financial reports from 2012-2019;
  • Incorporated Netball PNG in May 2013 as a legal entity under the Associations Act;
  • Put in place a new constitution, sports policies, including a child protection policy and codes of conduct;
  • Increase in membership from eight associations in 2010 to 18 associations this year;
  • Introduction and incorporation of Mixed and Men’s Netball;
  • Successful participation of our U21 and senior teams to international events from 2011-2019;
  • Successfully hosted the 2011 Pacific Series and 2015 Pacific Games;
  • Secured strategic partnerships, including from the corporate sector and development partners; and,
  • Successful bid for PNG to host the 2020 regional World Youth Cup qualifiers.

I’m thankful that I have left a legacy and footprint for many years to come. Post Pacific Games in 2015, there was a need to review how we conducted our business as the sport had grown in population, geography and popularity.
In 2016, we set out on developing Netball PNG’s first strategic plan (2016-2018).
This year, we launched our second strategic plan (2019-2023), which will transform the game over the next five to 10 years through the following key objectives:

  • Signing of a long-term partnership between the PNG Sports Foundation and Netball PNG for the usage of the Rita Flynn Netball Facility;
  • Operationalise the sport through the establishment of an office and recruitment of staff;
  • Securing of strategic partnerships with development partners such as Netball Australia, Water Aid PNG and Equal Playing Field;
  • Securing of corporate partnerships for the sustainability of Netball PNG over the next five years;
  • Introduction of a new tier netball competition in PNG, giving rise to district and provincial games;
  • Establishing a new High Performance Super League competition in PNG with potential export of players to higher-playing competitions over the next 24 months; and,
  • Setting up of an accreditation framework and pathway for umpires and coaches in PNG.

At the time of the change in leadership, the board was at the point of securing long-term strategic partnerships with development partners and the corporate sector for all seven objectives listed above.

Conclusion
Whilst I would have liked to continue my vision of transforming netball over the next five years, I am satisfied that I have left netball in a strong position to grow by setting up Netball PNG’s governance and policy structures to lift the profile of the sport, leaving netball in a financially healthy position and securing some strategic partnerships for the new board to take forward.
I am thankful for the opportunity given to me by all netballers in the country to lead the sport over the last nine years.
I am confident that the new board, under the leadership of Ulato Avei, will take the sport forward over the next three years.
There is a lot of incomplete business and I trust the new board to take this vision forward.
Finally, my greatest support has come from my family (my dad, mum, siblings Madeline, Susan, Rex and Monalisa, and children Louise Mindrac and Malcolm Philip) who have backed me all these years and have been my pillar of strength through thick and thin over the last twelve years.
I also pay tribute to my club Sparrows and importantly,  I pay tribute to my mentors who have moulded and guided me as a young leader in the corporate, government and development sector in Lady Aivu Tauvasa, Ivan Pomaleu and Wayne Dorgan, who I am forever indebted to.