Lorma first to back Ipatas Cup teams

THE 2011 Coca-Cola Ipatas Cup competition  set for February has attracted 250 teams throughout the country.
CEO Timothy Lepa revealed this in Mt Hagen yesterday.
Lepa added the total prize money on offer is K350,000, making it the biggest competition in the country outside the inter-city competition.
One business which has actively backed  teams in the CCIC is  Lorma Construction which paid K1,500 in registration fees for three teams (K500 each) it sponsored to take part in the competition.
The teams include Lorma East (Wapenamanda), Lorma Tarangau (Mendi) and Lorma Waves (Mt Hagen).
Lepa said that out of the 250 teams that had shown interest they could only cater for 150 teams to participate in the competition.
He said that some new teams coming into the competition this year are Rai Coast, Usino/Bundi, Wewak and Bialla.
He said that to improve the standard all  affiliated teams would play their trial matches in their own districts.
Lepa said that the trials would be played in their respective provincial headquarters where only the best two to four teams would be selected to represent their provinces.
He said that all the trials matches would be completed by January.
Lorma construction manager Sape Molumi  said the company was proud to support development of rugby league in rural areas.
He said that Lorma through its sponsorship had already produced one Kumul, David Loko, who featured in Four Nations series.
“We will continue to support local competitions and we think the Ipatas Cup is the way to go in really developing the sport,” Molumi said.
He commended  Engan governor Peter Ipatas and Coca-Cola  for promoting the code.
Lorma Waves president Seth Timothy thanked Lorma for supporting youths eager to play rugby league.
The other sponsors supporting CCIC include Barrick Gold, National Gaming Control Board, Lae Biscuit Company, and Mineral Resource Development Company.