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Auki Easter Fun Run 2018 ended successffully

Written by
Milton Ragaruma
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Some of the MPG staffs joining Team silver

BY GEORGE MANFORD

AUKI

Some of the MPG staffs joining Team silver

THE Easter fun run organized last Saturday was a dramatic one and will be long remembered to staff from the Malaita provincial government (MPG) headquarter.

The Fun run started from Aligegeo School to Auki which ended with a general cleanup program and presentation of awards to winners.

The MPG staff was divided into three teams, team gold in red colors, team silver in the sponsored BSP t- shirts and team bronze in green colors.

The program was ended at the Auki central market car park area which attracts public coming in numbers to witness the program.

The fun run has three winners across all team. Paul kali became the winner for team gold, team silver winner was Gideon and team bronze winner was John Kingston.

The Easter fun run was proudly sponsored by the malaita provincial government, Our Telekom and the Bank of the South Pacific (BSP).

In the consolation awards, the youngest runner was 6 year old Marisa Iro while the oldest runner award went to Gabriel Gwaeramo.

In the other consolation awards, the funniest runner’s award goes to Martin Jasper and John Houma.

Last Saturday’s events were ended successfully and peacefully.

Six netters named for Nations Cup

Written by
Milton Ragaruma
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BY ROMULUS HUTA

A team of six – three men and three women will represent Solomon Islands in this year’s Oceania Tennis Nations Cup in Fiji.

The one-week tournament will be held at Lautoka from May 31 to June 5.

Solomon Islands will be represented by a star-studded side which include Benjamin Joel Junior, Graham Mani, Popai Leong, Doreen Ningalo, Prudence Bird and Zorika Morgan.

Four of the players named above are already in Fiji.

Benjamin Junior is currently studying at the Fiji National University (FNU) while Morgan, Bird and Mani are on an International Tennis Federation (ITF) scholarship at the Regional Tennis Institute in Lautoka.

Leong and Ningalo are the only two home-based members in the team.

The notable absence in the Nations Cup squad is the US-based duo Georjemah Row and Vinda Teally, who will not be able to make the long journey flying across the South Pacific Ocean from New Mexico to Fiji due to intensive study commitment.

Solomon Islands Tennis Association (SITA) Ian Honila said the tournament is expected to bring out the best of best in Pacific Islands tennis and will be a thriller showdown.

“Four players are already carrying out their preparations in Fiji while only two players are currently doing their training here at home.

“We are looking forward to some good results in the Nations Cup.

“We have a mixture of old and new players in the team and I’m pleased with the feedbacks received from the players so far regarding training,” Honila added.

A total of 15 Pacific Islands countries including Solomon Islands are participating in the Nations Cup.

The others are hosts Fiji, American Samoa, Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia (FSM), Kiribati, Norfolk Islands, Northern Mariana Islands (NMI), Palau, Papua New Guinea (PNG), Samoa, Tahiti, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu.

Leading up into the Nations Cup in Lautoka, Team Solomon Islands will take part in the Fiji Open scheduled for May 23 to 27 at the Denerau Golf and Racquet Complex in Nadi.

Veteran female netter Ningalo will be the team captain heading into the Fiji Open and the Nations Cup.

“We are ready to represent the country in the upcoming tournaments.

“We are having intensive training sessions for the tournaments coming up next month and in June.

“The other four are in Fiji with tight busy training schedules and the same also goes for me and Popai here in Honiara.”

The Nations Cup competition will be conducted in a pool format.

This means all teams will be divided into the four pools where all team players are eligible to play singles and doubles matches.

The two winners from each pool will advance into the play-off and the quarterfinal.

The winner of Pool A will play-off against the runner-up of Pool D and the runner-up of Pool A will play-off against the winner of Pool D. The winner of Pool B will play-off against the runner-up of Pool C and the runner-up of Pool B will play-off against the winner of Pool C to determine the semifinals.

Men’s and women’s singles to be a 3-tie break sets for every draw including play-off positions.

All Doubles matches, including finals, shall be two tie-break sets with a deciding match tie-break (10 points) at one set at all.

Meanwhile, seeding for the competition will be done by a seeding committee who will meet in advance and deliberate under specific criteria on date yet to be announced. The draws for the Oceania Tennis Nations Cup will be decided during the captain’s meeting set for May 30.

Mocelutu pleased

Written by
Milton Ragaruma
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By Taromane Martin

SOLOMON Islands Rugby Union Federation (SIRUF) Development Officer Mr Alivereti Mocelutu has praised high school players for a successful Easter 7s competition yesterday.

SIRUF over the weekend staged their annual high schools Easter 7s competition at the Town Ground rugby stadium and saw Auki CHS claiming first place despite losing 26-0 to the national U-18 squad.

The former Fijian international said the competition is very important to SIRUF’s development plans in getting the country ready for the 2023 Pacific Games here in Honiara.

“The country has a very important activity coming up in four years’ time, the 2023 Pacific Games, and now we are looking at identifying players who can be consistent to represent the Solomon’s come 2023,” he said.

“It was a great competition yesterday (Saturday) and today (Sunday) which really helped us make some talent identification for our long term plans.

“Short term plans we have the Oceania competition and 2019 Pacific Games in Samoa coming up. But thank you guys for your execution and displaying of quality rugby,” he said.

The Development Officer also gave credit to the senior men’s 7s squad whose performances at last year’s Oceania qualifiers and Pacific Mini-Games convinced Oceania rugby to invite Solomon Islands for the youth qualifiers this month.

“Big credit to the senior 7s squad for helping SIRUF with this achievement. In fact it was from their performance at last year’s Oceania 7s and the Pacific Mini-Games in Vanuatu that convinced Oceania Rugby to invite the U-18 squad for the qualifiers,” Mocelutu said.

“Congratulations to the selected members of the national U-18 seven’s squad. This is their first time to be invited for the Oceania Youth qualifiers.

“In two weeks’ time the national U-18 squad will travel to Sydney Australia to compete in their first Oceania youth Olympic qualifiers,” he adds.

The Oceania Youth Olympic qualifiers will start on April 20-21 in Sydney, Australia. The winner of this competition will represent Oceania at this year’s Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

School Rugby League starts end of month

Written by
Milton Ragaruma
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0
Selco Storms being defeated by Kilusakoalo during the Easter 7s Kilusakoalo won

By Taromane Martin

THE 2018 Credit Corporation High Schools rugby competitions will undergo some minor changes to the competition format as the Solomon Islands Rugby Union Federation (SIRUF) continues developing the sport in the country.

SIRUF Chief Executive Officer Mr Gerald Oiaka confirmed yesterday that the annual high schools rugby season will start at the end of this month.

Oiaka said SIRUF will change the competition from teams competing in the junior and senior categories to the U-19 and U-17 division for all participating school teams.

“The annual Credit Corporation High Schools rugby competition is set to kick off end of April,” Oiaka said.

“All schools which participate last year and new ones who want to take part in the competition are most welcome to register their team.

“For this year’s league there will be some changes to this year’s high schools league. Instead of schools competing in the junior and senior categories, they will be competing in the Under-19 and Under-17.

“Therefore all participating schools will need to produce some documents as part of making sure the eligibility of their players for this year’s high school competition,” he said.

Mr Oiaka also confirmed long time partners Credit Corporation as the major sponsors for this year’s high schools competition.

“I’m also happy to announce that through past high schools competition it has made SIRUF’s task of selecting players for the national U-18 squad that much easier,” the CEO adds.

Meanwhile, the national U-18 squad will compete in the annual Honiara Easter Rugby Challenge today after competing in the High School 7s which completed yesterday.

Auki CHS were crowned competition champions despite losing 26-0 to the national youth squad yesterday.

Kuper aspires to become a national rep in the future

Written by
Milton Ragaruma
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Lenten Kuper during the junior tennis competiton last Saturday at the multipurpose tennis court.

BY ROMULUS HUTA

Lenten Kuper during the junior tennis competiton last Saturday at the multipurpose tennis court.

LENTEN Kuper aims to represent Solomon Islands in tennis one day in the future.

The 10 years old who hails from Makira/Ulawa Province is one of the more than 60 participants who are currently taking part in the junior tennis competition that is underway during this Easter break.

The junior tennis competition is being organised by Solomon Islands Tennis Association (SITA) for age categories 8 and under; 10 and under; 12 and under; 14 and under and 16 and under.

Kuper, aged 10, takes part in the under-12 category.

Speaking with SunSPORTS on Saturday, Kuper enjoys playing tennis and aims to be a national rep one day in the future.

Asked what he dreams of becoming in the future, he said: “My aim is become a good tennis player and also at the sametime pursue my dream to become a pilot.”

Kuper joined the junior tennis development run by the national governing tennis body SITA last year and admitted that his parents are backing him alot giving him advices and continuous words of encouragement.

“My mum and dad (Henry) are very helpful since joined the program last year. They always give me words of advice and support,” the grade three Saint Nicholas student said.

According to junior tennis coach Doreen Ningalo, Kuper is one of the most consistent performers in his ager group.

“I think Lenten has a bright future ahead of him in the sport.

“He has everything and if he continues with this consistency, he will become a national rep one day in the future.”

Meanwhile, the junior tennis competition will enter into its final day today.

Rebel Inc bags first win

Written by
Milton Ragaruma
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Rebelle inc James Waneasi goes up for the spike against Rainbow yesterday. Rebelle Inc both sets to pick up their first win in the competition…Pictures Benz Newman.

Easter Volleyball Championship underway

By Taromane Martin

Rebelle inc James Waneasi goes up for the spike against Rainbow yesterday. Rebelle Inc both sets to pick up their first win in the competition…Pictures Benz Newman.

REBEL Inc men’s volleyball team has picked up their first win in the 2018 Solomon Islands Volleyball Federation Easter Volleyball Championship yesterday.

The Easter Volleyball Championship resumed yesterday after Day one matches of the competition on Saturday was cancelled due to the heavy rain.

Rebel Inc defeated Rainbow men’s team two sets to nil to pick up their first win in the competition.

Boosted by players from volleyball powerhouse, Arasina, Rebel Inc cruised through a comfortable first set winning 25-24 before another close margin win in the second set for the victory.

SIVBF President Mr Morris Maitaiki said he expects all pool matches to be completed by Tuesday.

“We expect all our pool matches to be covered by Tuesday due to the postponement.

“Once all pool games are completed then we’ll move into the Multipurpose Hall on Wednesday Thursday and Friday for our finals,” Maitaki said.

The volleyball championship is competed by a total of 26 teams, eight for the women’s division and 18 teams in the men’s division.

Pool matches for the 2018 national Easter Volleyball Championship will continue today at Town Ground, Ministry of Justice playground.

Auki CHS High School 7s champs

Written by
Milton Ragaruma
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0
Auki CHS players receiving the winning trophy from SIRUF Development Officer Mr Alivereti Mocelutu.

By Taromane Martin

Auki CHS players receiving the winning trophy from SIRUF Development Officer Mr Alivereti Mocelutu.

AUKI Community High School is the 2018 Credit Corporation High School Easter 7s challenge champions.

The Malaita Rugby Union Association (MRUA) representatives were crowned champions despite losing 26-0 to the national U-18 squad in the grand final match at the Town Ground Rugby Stadium yesterday.

Auki secured their grand final spot after defeating a determined Selco Stormers 14-12 in their semifinal match while the National U-18 squad defeated Kilusakwalo 19-5 in the other semifinal match.

Auki Head Coach Paul Elo thanked God for the achievement and for looking after the team during their travel from Auki to Honiara for the competition.

Elo said it is a big improvement for his players who are mostly soccer players saying they will return to Honiara to compete in this year’s Inter-Islands Rugby 15s challenge.

“I thank God for his protection and guidance during our trip over to Honiara and for blessing us to reach the finals,” Mr Elo said.

“It’s a big improvement for our players who most are their first time to play rugby. They are playing very well.

“With only had two months to set up and reaching the final is an achievement for us. We hope the next time we come around we’ll give another good challenge.

“After this we’ll go back and keep training in preparation for the Inter-Islands Challenge,” he said.

Elo thanked their supporters for coming out yesterday and also thanked their sponsors for making their trip possible.

Meanwhile, in the third and fourth position playoffs it was Kilusakwalo who secured third position while Selco Stormers claimed fourth position.

Final standings for the 2018 Credit Corporation High School Easter 7s challenge are as follows:

1st place- Auki CHS

2nd place-Kilusakwalo

3rd place- Selco Stormers.

Leong want to emulate his uncle

Written by
Milton Ragaruma
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0
Popai Leong wants to emulate his uncle and former Pacific tennis number one Michael Leong.

BY ROMULUS HUTA

WHEN Popai Leong steps onto the tarmac at the Henderson International Airport to board his Nadi-bound flight next month, the young lad knows well at the back of his mind that he’s in for another serious tennis business.

18 year old Popai is one of the players named in the six-member Solomon Islands team for the Oceania Tennis Nations Cup.

The one-week tournament will be held at Lautoka from May 31 to June 5.

The other five representatives alongside Popai includes Fiji-based quartet which comprised Benjamin Joel Junior, Graham Mani, Prudence Bird and Zorika Morgan and home-based Doreen Ningalo.

Leong and Ningalo are the only two home-based members in the team.

Representing Solomon Islands in international competitions overseas is not something new for Popai.

In the previous years he had represented Solomon Islands abroad by participating in the West Pacific Regional Competition and the Pacific Oceania Junior Championship.

The satisfactory results he achieved in those competitions qualifies him to an opportunity to don the national jumper for a second competitive outing when he received a call to take part in the 2015 Commonwealth Youth Games in Apia.

The dream run extended into last year’s Pacific Mini Games in Vanuatu, when he broke through into the national tennis squad marking his senior debut at the Korman tennis complex in Port Vila.

“I think I have come a long way and I hope experiences gained throughout the years will help my performance in the Fiji Open and the Nations Cup.

“This would be my second time to represent the country at the senior level and I’m excited with the experience.

“I’m ready to compete and looks forward to the tournament.

“My aim is to achieve a good result at the event and I’m using this as a build up toward future senior international representations,” the former Bishop Epalle student said.

As a young lawn tennis player who has a very bright future ahead of him in the sport, his aim is to emulate the footsteps of his uncle, the former Solomon Islands number one and the former Association of Tennis Professional (ATP) ranked netter Michael Leong.

Popai is the son of Michael’s elder brother.

According to records, since after the reigning years of former Pacific number one and Solomon Islander the late Lency Tenai, Michael became the next most-profiled and highly rated Solomon Islands tennis player ever to come out bracing the Davis Cup courts across the Asia Pacific region for team Pacific Oceania for quite a number of years.

To mention a little bit more on his credential as an athlete, Michael was the winning recipient of the only gold medal Solomon Islands won during the 2007 South Pacific Games (now Pacific Games) in Apia when he defeated Samoan and number one seed Juan Langton in two easy straight sets.

According to Popai, those achievements spelt out above are stringing benchmarks that Popai aims to reach and surpass with his racquet one day in the not too distant future.

“My uncle advises me a lot. He’s my mentor.

“He always encourages me to remain calm and focus during any match.

“Discipline and commitment are the other areas he always talk to me about.

“Always play with a winning mentality.

“If you have the right attitude when taking on any opponent on the court, you can easily win,” an unwavering Popai stressed when asked about some of the advices he often get from his uncle Michael.

Meawhile, Popai and his fellow national team members will participate in the Fiji Open set for May 23 to 27 at the Denerau Golf and Racquet Complex in Nadi before heading into the Oceania Tennis Nations Cup kicking off May 31 in Lautoka.

Wantok system corrupts the country

Written by
Milton Ragaruma
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DEAR EDITOR, as a student and a concerned citizen of the Solomon Islands, I urge all government sectors and citizens to stop practising wantok system in the country.

This is due to the fact that wantok system produces corruption; and does not promote the standard of living in the country.

We should have already reached a higher standard of living with all the useful resources we have at hand, unfortunately, wantok system has corrupted our development system.

First, the hindrance of having positive economic growth in which funds are misused by the responsible authority and the ignorance of the country’s need like instead of promoting tourism or proper management of cleaning up the town (Honiara), the fund is misused for different purpose/personal gain.

Second, wantok system is a recipe for poor economic growth.

Job opportunities and selection of employees nowadays does not based on merit but it depends on who you know; if you have a good connection or know someone working in the system you will have more privilege of getting the Job.

Third, wantok system increases political interference with admin process.

A good example is during selection of scholarship awards; politicians are always involved.

We all know that the education authority can handle this issue and it is their responsibility to do the selection; so why do politicians always get involved?

Finally, wantok system fuels systematic corruption in terms of individuals using their power to give contracts to their relatives/wantok.

Instead of giving the road contract to a civil engineer that has qualifications on that field; they gave it to a Human Resource manager or a farmer.

Now, in light of this national concern, I believe that implementation of the Anti-corruption bill is a way that can help reduce this issue.

The country should create a convention that is not bias and is applied to everyone with penalty; so that anyone who practice wantok system should be penalised definitely.

Also, building a monitor mechanism such as a government division in a form of the key performance indicators that can monitor it with proper implementation strategies will make it effective in the country.

I call out to all citizens to work together to get rid of wantok system and corruption.

The standard of living in our country depends on the choices we make today.

If we want an advanced standard of living in the future then we should stop the practice of wantok system or else we are left to only hope for the better in the future.

Sincerely

Margareth Esther

USP, Laucala

Disaster preparedness a must

Written by
Milton Ragaruma
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0

PACIFIC Island Countries are vulnerable to natural hazards that include floods, droughts, tropical cyclones, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and tsunamis.

In an article by Pacific Islands Report in 2016, Fiji, Papua New Guinea (PNG), Solomon Islands, Tonga and Vanuatu are highlighted as the top 5 highest risk countries in the world.

These past months and Easter weekend, these 5 countries had been faced with the sudden onset of disaster.

This Easter weekend, in Fiji, most of the town in the Western division had been underwater following torrential rains and heavy winds caused by Tropical Cyclone (TC) Josie.

In PNG last month, a 7.5 earthquake hit the highlands killing 125 people in its wake causing 35000 people to be displaced.

In Vanuatu, volcanic alert is at level 3 with only last week, Lombenben volcano on the island of Ambae erupt causing buildings to collapse under the weight of volcanic ash. In Tonga, between 12 and 13, February 2018, TC Gita with average winds of 110 knots (285km/hour) crossed the small island nation, making it one of the worst cyclones to have hit the island of Tonga.

For Solomon Islands, though not catastrophic, a 5.8 earthquake jolted almost everyone in Honiara on Good Friday morning (maybe a spiritual awakening for some).

Because of the frequency of such natural hazards, disaster preparedness is a must and people must be educated and made aware on preparedness plans.

Our National Government has its National Disaster Risk Management Plan and this should be an ongoing priority area for them. Despite the limited budget, National Disaster Management Office (NDMO) must be able to develop and strengthen its disaster risk management capacity in the country.

People too, let us not be ignorant.

We should do something now to reduce or mitigate the effects of such disaster on our property, lives and infrastructure.

Let us not wait for a catastrophic event to happen.

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