PNG netball outlines plans

 THE PAPUA New Guinea Netball Federation aims to strengthen its domestic competition.

The PNG Netball board released its 2016 calendar which begins this month and runs through to Nov.  

Key priority areas of focus for the board include developing its three-year strategic plan, preparations for the Under-21 World Cup qualifier, the inception of its national schools outreach programme and a new-look national domestic competition.

PNG Netball president Julienne Leka-Maliaki said the board reviewed its work plan and was confident of delivering another successful year. 

She said priority would be preparing a strong team to compete at the U21 World Cup qualifying event in New Zealand from Sept 24-27.

“Preparations are underway for the first training camp to be held in Port Moresby from March 25-28 to assess the current training squads who have been in training since Dec 2015,” she said. 

A 30-member squad will attend the first training camp which will be trimmed down to a final 15 in July and the final 12 selected in August prior to the tournament.

Another key priority will be the new structure of PNG Netball’s domestic competition, including the separation of the annual national championships to be held on July 4–7 for the junior championships and Sept 15–18 for the Open Championships in Port Moresby. 

The decision to separate these two events was for economic reasons and also to enhance the quality output of each event.