VA'A CAPTAINS TOLD TO LEAD WITH THEIR EXPERIENCE

CAPTAINS for the Papua New Guinea national va’a (canoeing) team have been urged to step up, give the necessary support and lead their teams in the forthcoming IX Mini Pacific Games to be held next month in Wallis & Futuna.

National coach, Jonathan Kassman stressed this to his athletes, coaches and team members last Thursday (August 8) during their meeting in Port Moresby.

The female co-captains, Nellie Tetaga and Ailima Kini will play an important role as leaders for their team.

Photo: Three high school students who are part of the PNG Va'a team travelling to the Mini Games - Kea Morea (left), Kone Keni and Samuel Frank. 

Tetaga was a member of the women’s team that won the bronze medal in a sprint in the Palau Mini Games in 2005. Kini is the steerer and was part of the Kemper Leva Canoeing Club that recently participated in an international regatta in Cairns where the club won two gold, two silver and two bronze medals.

The men’s co-captains, Ronnie Hae and Gabe Rei will play similar roles and lead by example as well.

Both Hae and Rei are senior PNG va’a team members and were urged by Kassman to step up and lead their team members with the experience that they have.

The current team also includes three teenage students who will draw motivation from the leadership from their senior team members. The three are Kea Morea, 18, in Grade 11 and Kone Keni, 16, in Grade 9 at Badihagwa Secondary School in Port Moresby and Samuel Frank, 17 who is in Grade 11 at Jubilee Catholic Secondary School also in the city.

This will be Keni’s first time to represent the country and she is excited and looking forward it, while Morea and Frank were part of the men’s va’a team that participated in the 2011 Nouméa Games and are looking forward to doing much better in Wallis & Futuna this year.

Morea and Frank were also part of the team that va’a is building up for the 2015 Games to be held here in PNG.