Eagles ready to fly at Games

 PAPUA New Guinea Volleyball teams are set to fly in the 2013 Mini Pacific Games with the launching of their new name on Wednesday. 

The national volleyball teams will now be known as AMOA PNG.

The Wednesday event had exhibition matches by junior players from associations in Port Moresby, as well as the national teams. 

“Amoa means eagle in the local languages around the Hula area of Central and surrounding areas along the Aroma Coast,” PNG women’s indoor volleyball coach John Kombeng said last Thursday.

“Most other sporting codes have names, such as the Kumuls for rugby league, Pukpuks for rugby union, Pepes for netball and Barramundis for cricket. At the national level, we thought it was appropriate for us to have a name like the teams from other codes.”

Kombeng said they considered using the Tok Pisin equivalent of tarangau or manigulai from the New Guinea Islands region but those were too long.

“Amoa is short and suitable,” Kombeng said.

Kombeng, who designed the logo for team volleyball, said the character of the eagle was what they wanted to instil in the players in the Mini Games and beyond.

“The eagle glides high above and then dives down to pounce on its prey,” he said. “We want the players to learn from the bird – to predict the path of the ball even before it is hit and to attack like the eagle. That ability is valuable.” 

Kombeng is quite confident the women’s team will do well in the Wallis and Futuna Games and beyond. 

The volleyball teams have been building up for the Mini Games, ending a week-long training camp last month with the former Australian representative player Aaron Alsop from the Gold Coast Academy.

The teams will travel to Gold Coast, Australia, on Aug 22 for matches there and make use of world class facilities there.

They will return on Aug 28 and fly out for Wallis and Futuna on Aug 31.