Company reaffirms help for national titles

 By KYMLIE KARANI

THE PNG Netball Federation has renewed its three year sponsorship deal with Digicel PNG as the major sponsors of this year’s National Netball Championships.

The annual netball titles will now be known as the Digicel National Netball Championship to be staged from Sept 23-29 in Port Moresby at the Rita Flynn Netball Courts.

The company has been sponsoring PNG Netball since 2010.

PNG Netball acknowledged the commitment and support by the management of Digicel PNG in the development of women’s sports.

PNG Netball president Julienne Leka-Maliaki said that the funding would assist in staging several activities in developing the sport including the national championships.

“The 2013 championship will be well attended by associations from all regions of the country with the strongest contingents from the Southern region. We expect over 2,000 junior players and over 1,500 in the senior divisions,” Maliaki said.

“Netballers throughout the country look forward to this event. It’s about re-establishing, strengthening bonds and relationships between member associations. It’s about encouraging and promoting healthy lifestyles amongst all members,” she said.

During the presentation last Friday, Digicel’s chief operating officer, Darren McLean said  this was another milestone for Digicel in their support of one of the country’s major sports.

The introduction of netball in PNG was in the 1960s when the PNG Netball Federation was founded. 

The sport has since grown over the years to a current estimated membership of about 250,000 country-wide.