Mamose U16 Games aiming to develop athletes

By ROBINSON LEKA
EAST Sepik grassroots sports committee chairman and Mamose Under-16 Games organiser Clarence Hukahu says it is important to focus on developing the country’s next generation of athletes.
He said that at the end of the Games following three days of competition across eight sports in Wewak, East Sepik, on Tuesday.
Hukahu told The National that teams from Madang, East Sepik and West Sepik took part, with Morobe pulling out due to financial constraints.
Hukahu said the games started on Sunday with teams competing in athletics, boxing, darts, futsal (indoor soccer), netball, touch, rugby sevens and volleyball.
“The event is the first of its kind in the province and the region,” he said.
“We’re focusing on U16s because we’re targeting the next generation of athletes who will go on to represent the country.
“We’ve been trying to host the event for a while now and as per the Papua New Guinea Sports Foundation’s (PNGSF) vision, there must be regional games prior to the PNG Games. For the past four years, there haven’t been any so we tried to work on bringing that back and we’re happy that it has taken off.
“The Mamose U16 Games came about with PNGSF and the National Youth Development Authority working together to use sports as a tool to address social issues.
“We’ve got a lot of positive feedback from the teams so hopefully we can build from these Games and make the event bigger next time.”
Hukahu also acknowledged the support of PNGSF and authority officials who oversaw the Games.