WHP plans provincial kickboxing tournament

 By Mortimer Yangharry 

The Western Highlands Provincial Kickboxing Association is planning to stage a provincial mini kickboxing tournament in preparation for the 2014 PNG Games to be held in Lae, Morobe province.

Western Highlands Provincial Kickboxing Association President Sensei Simon Poiye said that the WHPKBA was looking forward to host the event and is appealing to politicians and business houses in the province to help in promoting kickboxing in WHP.

“We are planning to stage a provincial mini tournament on July 18, 2014 in preparation for the PNG Games,”Poiye said.

“I am appealing to the governor, local MPs and business houses in Mount Hagen to come and support so that we may be able to stage this significant event successfully.”

Poiye said that apart from various sporting codes in the province,WHPKBA  is  fully functioning as it has a full committee and board members in place, who are well-qualified and experienced fighters and instructors,”

“I received full authorisation from the general secretary Eddie Kavina and Stanley Nandex to stage this tournament,” Poiye said.

Meanwhile, the Papua New Guinea National Kick Boxing Federation (PNGKBF) General Secretary Eddie Kavina when contacted by The National said that his office has not received any correspondence regarding the planned provincial boxing tournament and said that it was news to him.

“I acknowledge the leadership showed by Poiye to promote the code of kickboxing in the Highlands region but I would also like him to get things in order to avoid problems that may arise if he doesn’t work closely with the PNGNKF,”

Kavina warned that staging provincial kickboxing tournaments must be done after prior approval from the federation as kickboxing is a full body contact games where the lives and safety of the participants must be prioritised.