Supporting the little team with the big heart

The new football (soccer) season has just started here in England and with it comes the excited chatter of fans from around the country. My favourite type of supporter (and perhaps it's no surprise my husband is one of these) is the often resigned fan of a team that doesn't always do well, but always tries to be the best it can be. I feel as though national sport in Papua New Guinea is a bit like this team.

The more I read about the country as a whole, the more I hear of the corruption of big business, institutions and politics. I've also become aware of inherent inequalities such as access to healthcare in remote areas and the status of gay relationships. There is no doubt an external bias that skews my viewpoint here, but despite these issues, I still feel like championing PNG, especially in sport. My travels over the internet exploring Papua New Guinea haven't all been doom and gloom. I've also found out about the many organisations that are doing great things in communities across PNG, especially those related to sport.

PNG Women's Cricket team winning their latest trophy. Photo: Skerah

Cricket PNG not only has a grand program of school cricket that has been touring schools since 2010, but also a range of initiatives called Kriket Blo Olgeta which includes disability cricket, women's teams, international matches and village and traditional games. Cricket PNG promotes all these through it's Facebook page right alongside the first team events, which shows how important the grass-roots game is to the national organisation.

Photo from the Cricket PNG Facebook page

Other sports are also involved in encouraging participation across the country. Rugby PNG run schools and community work in tandem with international organisations. Athletics PNG, who have been going for over 50 years, run athletics events in more than half of the 15 provinces, and aim to expand that even further so that all up-and-coming sports stars have the opportunity to get involved.

Wherever you are, when a sports team profile is raised it often means that there will be more funding for the projects that help get ordinary people engaged. I can see that sports organisations in PNG find it important to bring their games to everyone and that is something I can firmly cheer on.

If international sport is like the Premiership then to me PNG is the little team that may not win the cup, but that I'm proud to support because it's heart is firmly in the right place.

PNG Nature - Papuan Frogmouths

Say "Gude" to the Papuan Frogmouth, a bird that is a native of Papua New Guinea, Indonesia and Australia.

"Are you lookin' at me?"
Picture: spiceoflifetravel c/o TripAdvisor

The frogmouth may not be as pretty as the Kumul bird of paradise that graces the PNG flag, but it's not the most ugly bird in the world either*. Instead the Frogmouth's appeal is in it's rumoured method for catching prey which (if true) mean it is an awesomely lazy energy conserving creature.

While it can move from tree to tree catching small lizards, frogs and rodents it is suggested that it's also able to lie in wait for insects who simply fly into its open beak. Apparently it manages this by having a sort of intriguing halitosis that attracts bugs on the look-out for food. Instead of finding a tasty meal, the insects become one as the frogmouth closes it's huge mouth. Superbly efficient for the bird, a little bit disappointing for the bug.

If you think the Papuan Frogmouth looks smug you could be right - If I could attract pizza to my mouth just by opening it, I'd be pretty smug too!

For more pictures of the frogmouth visit http://beautyofbirds.com/papuanfrogmouths.html

*The accolade of ugliest bird surely belongs to the Frogmouth's cousin the hilarious Potoo from South America (go ahead and have a look, it's worth it!)

PNG at the Commonwealth Games - Glasgow 2014

Well, the Commonwealth Games is over for another four years, and though England topped the table, Papua New Guinea came a creditable 16 out of 71 nations.

Thanks to the disqualification of an Indian weightlifter Dika Toua's Silver medal was upgraded to a Gold, giving the country it's best finish in the Commonwealth Games ever. The last (and only other) time that PNG got 2 medals was in 2006 and that was a Gold/Silver combo, so this is another grand achievement by the the 90-strong team.

Both medals came in weightlifting - Steven Kukuna Kari getting a straight Gold in the first week of the competition - but there were many other personal bests picked up along the way.

I hope the athletes are able to bring back some of the excitement of the games to PNG and encourage more of the nations sportsmen and women to reach their world class standard. However for me, the thrill is of watching teams from all backgrounds working hard and challenging themselves on a positive platform like the one we saw at Glasgow 2014. I can't wait to see how Papua New Guinea manage to build on this in Australia in four years time.

Go PNG!

Rugby League World Cup - November 2013

Back in early 2013, we heard the great news that the Rugby League World Cup was coming to our local stadium. Then we found that the match was to be New Zealand vs Papua New Guinea and I jumped at the opportunity to take up the flag of my cousin's birthplace and wave it as if it were my own.

Headingley stadium is home to (amongst other teams) Leeds Rhinos and their fans were out in force on the Friday in early November when we went to watch the game. I'm not sure if it was the British "fair play" attitude of supporting the underdog, or the fact that PNG player Paul Aiton had just signed for the Rhinos that meant that the crowds were firmly behind the Kumuls that evening.

Before the game.

As we walked to the ground I proudly wore my flag on my shoulders, sweeping up the street with a flag (temporarily) tattooed on my cheek. In the stadium I saw song sheets being distributed and a few PNG scarves but it wasn't until the game was underway did the extend of the support become apparent. The chant going round the ground was "Oh Papua New Guinea" to the tune of the bass line from "Seven Nation Army" by the White Stripes. At times it filled the stadium and there would have been no doubt in the PNG players' minds that we were behind them all the way.

Paul Aiton with the ball from the YEP match report.

Photo: Steve Riding

Despite the home crowd's support, PNG's first half was pretty poor against the might of the All Blacks, and by half time the score was a painful 40-0. When they returned to cheers for the second half however, the Papua New Guineans were determined not to lie down and fought hard to achieve 10 points that received spine-tingling roars from the fans. The game ended 56-10 but that second half was well worth the wait!

Three more PNG fans here!

Visit the Rugby League World Cup website to read the match report.