District eyes change through sports

Sports

BY JEFFREY ELAPA
NIPA-Kutubu, under the leadership of Southern Highlands Governor William Powi, pictured, has decided to promote change in the attitude of people — including youths who usually turn to bad habits.
Recently, youths from Poroma, Nipa and Nembi Plateau had decided to stop their bad habits and engage in sports.
Credit should also go to the great work of the churches for helping to establish peace and good order in the communities throughout the district, according to Powi.
In the Lower Nipa and Upper Plateau local-level government areas, the Seventh-day Adventist Church has played an important role in maintaining peace which allows the smooth flow of traffic between Mendi and Hela, and completion of the Papua New Guinea LNG project.
With peace being established in the district, the youths have turned their attention to helping develop rugby league.
So far, youths of Poroma, Nembi Plateau and Nipa have established three associations and they are the Central Poroma, Upper Poroma and the Nipa rugby leagues.
In Nipa, the Highway Spiders was formed last year.
The Spiders are now affiliated with the Papua New Guinea Rugby Football League (PNGRFL) through Highlands Confederate.
Secretary Peter Pesul described it as a breakthrough for rugby league in Nipa to be affiliated with PNGRFL.
Pesul said youths were excited and keen to help develop rugby league in the district.
Among some of the achievements, the Poroma Nuggets from the Poroma Rugby League, had secured their first gold pass in the Southern Highlands leg of the Coca-Cola Ipatas Cup.
The Nuggets will be competing in the finals of the Highlands leg in Goroka.