Media Pool gears up for season

THE Media Pool competition is set to be bigger and better in 2013 according to chairman Colin Taimbari.

He has confirmed that major sponsor National Gaming Control Board will once again support the competition for the third consecutive year with the sponsorship package to be announced at the 2013 season launch on June 19 at the Lamana Hotel. 

Special guests at the launch will be NGCB chairman Qwentan Cholai and PNG Media Pool patron and national Health Minister Michael Malabag.

“PNG Media Pool is indeed proud and honoured to continue our association with the National Gaming Control Board as such corporate sponsorship reflects the success with which our great competition has been run over the past nine years since inception in 2004,” he said.

Taimbari,  (pictured) said the PNG Media Pool Inc annual general meeting would be held on June 12 with the main agenda being the presentation of the 2012 financial report and the election of new executives for the 2013 season.

He said the number of teams in the 2013 competition will be kept to 20 compared to 26 last year and as the name suggests, preference as usual would be given to media houses wanting to participate this

year. The response from teams so far has been overwhelming.

“It is pleasing to note that many of them are teams from mainstream media which did not participate in 2012 given their busy workloads covering last year’s general elections,” he added.

Taimbari said the level of competition this year was once again expected to be very high with last year’s premiers Telinet looking to defend their crown. 

The PNG Media Pool is easily the largest socially organised pool competition in the country in terms of number of participating teams and level of corporate sponsorship. 

It is played every Saturday at the Lamana Hotel. 

A similar competition is being organised in Lae and will cue off concurrently with the main Port Moresby chapter.