Maipu blasts management of Team Western

SENIOR Western province sports administrator Alfred Maipu last Friday blasted the overall management of Team Western to the 4th PNG Games in Port Moresby that ended recently on what he termed as an “ill-managed campaign”.
Maipu expressed his concerns after learning of a below par performance by the participants from the province at the games last month.
“The players did not perform to their best due to lack of team spirit that eventually resulted in loss of confidence”, Maipu said.
“Teams were restricted to their own district teams and sports, North, Middle and South, and should not have been the case.
“They should forget about the electorates they represent and unite as one team. What this boils down to is the experience of the management team and their ability to administer and manage sports,” he said.
Maipu, who managed the rugby sevens side, felt there was no team spirit among the players.
He said with the different sports allocated to certain districts, it forced the teams to stick to their own groupings.
He maintained that those responsible had been nominated into jobs they had no experience of and this was a let down to the provincial government and the governor’s office, who had poured in a lot of money to help the team to attend the games.
“There was no proper preparation before the games, even the opening ceremony was a total disgrace, because there were no proper uniforms.”
Heading to the 2012 East New Britain games, the long-time rugby administrator suggested that a new management team be appointed, and that preparations start immediately.
He called for the creation of sports divisions within the Community Service Department.
Maipu said he came forward with criticism as he did not want to stand by again and watch the provincial team go to another game, looking like they did.