With an aim to support the development of Junior Hockey in Papua New Guinea, one the the major mobile phone companies in PNG Digicel PNG offered a K10-thousand sponsorship in July this year.

Papua New Guinea became the first country in the Pacific to host the Under 18 Junior Hockey Championships in the country’s second capital, Lae while other hockey-playing centres in the country also took part.

Participating teams lining up to collect medals and merchandise from major sponsor Digicel PNG. Pic by Samuel Toposona

This now puts PNG ahead of other countries in the region and in a better position to select a team to take part in the Youth Olympics in 2015.

Youths taking part in such sporting activities is very encouraging and with the of multi-national companies like Digicel PNG helps to develop young talents to better the sport of hockey.

Madang one of the provinces were front runners when they took out the Under 18 boys while Lae’s Under 18 gold finished off smoothly with a sound victory.

Well good for the winners while hockey is just of the very few codes that has just started for youths in the country and undergoing immense development through programs.

Furthermore sports is an activity where most organisations in PNG see is a way of involving youths and keeping them away from illegal activities as drug and alcohol abuse amongst others.

With this as one of the many positive outcomes of sports what is there for youths in your area. It would be good to know about what youths are doing in your community.