PETE’S PUNCHLINE

The National Sports
  • What’s it going to be? Are we having the PNG Games from March 18 to April 1 or not? The lack of any definitive statements from the PNG Games Council and the Sports Ministry is frustrating to say the least.
  •  The PNG Games Council along with the Sports Minister had a meeting this weekend to discuss this matter. It looks like the deferral is imminent – on weather-related grounds. The official announcement should be made today, or by mid week at the latest.
  • Apart from the inconvenience this will cause the provincial teams (those that were ready from the get go), the deferral will throw some sports calendars into disarray.
  • Athletics PNG had hoped to use the PNG Games to identify new talent for some major regional meets this year. It’s expensive to run athletics meets so when there is an all-inclusive multi-sport event scheduled at an appropriate time of the year, one should make the most of it.
  • The other problem with the PNG Games being deferred for the second time is, when do you have it in 2017? West New Britain Governor Sasindran Muthuvel suggested that the event be put to September to coincide with the Independence celebrations.
  • Organisers need to ensure that the Games are held at a time of the year that will not clash with the school academic year. If a large portion of the competing athletes from each province are students, then having the Games in September might not be a good idea if it clashes with examinations and other important events on the school calendar.
  •  We all like to think sports is important but education trumps it all day, every day. Parents would be reluctant to release their children if taking part in a PNG Games would adversely affect the education of their kids. It’s a no-brainer.
  • Another possible solution to the PNG Games problem is to just host it in Port Moresby, on behalf of West New Britain. As a host city, NCD ticks off all the boxes: venues, check; accommodation, check; amentities and services, check; healthcare services, check; expertise and equipment, check; sponsorship, check; West New Briton community, check. Everything seems to be covered.
  • The only issue is how teams get here. Port Moresby is still inaccessible by road from the rest of the country. I know, its embarrasing. The capital of PNG, and you can’t reach it by road from anywhere that matters. I guess that’s something coming governments need to have a look at in their spare time.
  • OK folks back to the old name game. This one was an obvious one from the start. I don’t know why I didn’t include it in an early column. Moses Meninga. That’s right. The Hunters latest forward recruit shares the same name as a legend of the sport. Not sure how the Q-Cup commentators are going to handle this one. – PGTP