Va’a women to race

 By MICHAEL RICKY GUBA

THE Papua New Guinea Canoeing Association will be staging a va’a championship during the weekend as part of its move to better equip its team for the upcoming 2015 South Pacific Games.

The championship will be for the women’s squad only.

PNG Canoeing Association president Willard Stephen said the event will see a team from South Queensland and Cairns taking part in the tournament. 

“Both Australian teams are champions within their associations so this will put up a good challenge for the PNG women’s side,” he said.

He said the championship will feature sprint and marathon events. 

The 500m and 1500m sprint event will take place at the Fairfax Harbour, whereas the 200km and 400km marathon events will take place at Ela Beach, on Saturday and Sunday respectively.

The finalised PNG va’a women’s squad is in training at the High Performance Training Centre at 4-Mile and is in high spirits for the championships during the weekend. “After this championship, the va’a women’s team will be fully geared up to go up against Tahiti — the reigning va’a champions — New Caledonia and Fiji, who are most likely to put up a tough challenge come the Games in July,” he said. 

“As for the men’s side, they have already taken part in a similar championship in Queensland. 

“Currently, they are in training and looking forward to the Games in July,” Stephen  said.