Games is bustling

Host town for South Pacific Games is bustling

From a Port Moresby correspondent With the Third South Pacific Games only 12 months away—they are to be held in Port Moresby from August 13-23, 1969—New Guinea’s official preparations for them are farther advanced than were the Noumea and Suva Games at the same stage.

I have just made a tour of the various sites, and spoken to most of the key men behind the preparations, and I’ve come away impressed by the enthusiasm, dedication and speed with which the great variety of tasks are being tackled.

One of the secrets of progress is clearly that most of the men involved represented New Guinea at Suva or Noumea, or both, and have a prac tical yardstick.

Early experience

Chairman of the organising com mittee, solicitor Mr. C. P.

McCubbery, and chairman of the P-NG South Pacific Games Associa tion, planter Mr. Don Barrett, were both officials at Suva and Noumea.

Their problems have obviously been reduced by the fact that the South Pacific Games Trust, which controls expenditure on the Games, early ap

pointed a fulltime executive officer, Air Commodore T. D. Beyer, to pull that side of the organisation together.

Fourteen Pacific territories will

send teams to Port Moresby. O those eligible only Niue, the US Trusi Territory of Micronesia and thu Tokelaus won’t be competing. On* of the smallest teams will be 12 from the GEIC; among the largest will b New Caledonia with 200, Fiji 188 and Guam 144.

Main area of activity and accomi modation will be in the Borok* region of Port Moresby, which ii about five miles from the port are; and two miles from the airport. Thii central area is the fastest developin, part of Port Moresby.

The main athletic field is beini developed on the harbour side, abou four miles from the Boroko ares Bulldozers have already there an Olympic standard runnim track, the first of its kind in thi territory, and a second field is nov

A party of P-NG high school students, at left, are shown the progress on the main Games arena alongside Port Moresby harbour. There is an aerial picture of the site on the opposite page. Above, right, two of the leading organisers of Port Moresby Games, Messrs. Kevin Atkinson and Don Barrett, inspect progress on a swimming pool at Murray Barracks, which will [?] available as a training pool for contestants.

Fine new halls like this one at Murray Barracks will be the scene of many of indoor sports for the 1969 Games.

sing laid out as an athletics warm p area and for some other events.

Work will soon start on a grand and at the water’s edge, seating bout 1,100; there will be permanent anked-earth open-air seating for tiother 8,000, and a temporary stand > seat 4,000. The arena will be 3od-lit.

Bulldozers working

Out at Taurama, not far from the oroko shopping centre, bulldozers •e now moving tons of soil for Port loresby’s first 20 metre swimming x>l, to be completed by March. It ill become the town’s public pool ; ter the Games. The new pool, reraging 8 ft deep, is adapted partly om the design of the successful bumea Games pool.

Lawn tennis competitions will be rid at Boroko on five existing courts id three new ones soon to be added, or practice there will be about 30 nnis courts around Port Moresby.

Netball, volley ball, Soccer and ugby will also be played at Boroko, though semi-finals may go to the ain arena.

Two fine army pools, one already use at Taurama and a second now ;ing built at Murray Barracks, at oroko, will be available for training.

All the sporting facilities of the my are being turned over for the ames, and this has cut down .penditure and provided the Games ith first class facilities. At Murray irracks there are a splendid new ssembly Hall and gymnasium which ill be used for competition judo, right lifting and table tennis. Ovals e also available there for athletic id football training.

Accommodation

Games contestants will be lartered in dormitories already built the Port Moresby Teacher Train g College, near Boroko, and at e P-NG Administrative College, aigani. Not far away, administra te headquarters and full Press cilities will be established in a w building being especially erected i the Murray highway.

Erection of the swimming pool id the main athletics arena are the o biggest projects being undertaken

for the Games, each costing some thing in the nature of $200,000. The territory has what it calls a shoe string budget of $825,000, but it is now raising funds by public subscrip tion, and attracting aid in kind from business organisations.

Nominations

These are the nominations for the Games: American Samoa: Athletics, basket ball, boxing, lawn tennis, softball, volleyball, weight lifting.

British Solomons: Soccer, athletics, basketball, golf, lawn tennis, netball, Rugby Union, swimming, table tennis, yachting, water polo.

Fiji: Athletics, swimming, water polo, Rugby Union, Soccer, basket ball, netball, softball, lawn tennis, table tennis, weight lifting, boxing, golf, yachting, judo.

French Polynesia: Soccer, athletics, basketball, judo, lawn tennis, swimming, table tennis, volleyball, weight lifting, yachting.

Gilbert and Ellice Islands: Soccer, athletics, basketball, lawn tennis, table tennis, volleyball.

(Continued on p. 127)

This aerial picture especially taken by a "PIM" staff man shows progress on the main Games arena on reclaimed land alongside the harbour. A second oval will shortly take shape at left of the one seen. Other Games activities will take place four miles from here, at far left, background.

Guam: Athletics, basketball, box ing, judo, lawn tennis, netball, soft ball, swimming, table volleyball, weight lifting.

Nauru: Soccer, athletics, basketball, boxing, lawn tennis, Rugby Union, swimming, table tennis.

New Caledonia: Soccer, athletics, basketball, boxing, judo, lawn tennis, swimming, table tennis, volleyball, weight lifting, yachting, Rugby Union.

New Hebrides: Soccer, athletics, basketball, golf, judo, lawn tennis, Rugby Union, yachting.

Papua - New Guinea: Volleyball, athletics, swimming, water polo, Rugby Union, Soccer, Basketball, netball, softball, lawn tennis, table tennis, weight lifting, boxing, golf, yachting, judo.

Tonga: Athletics, basketball, box ing, volleyball, weight lifting, yacht ing.

Wallis and Futuna: Soccer, athletics, boxing, volleyball, weight lifting.

Western Samoa: Athletics, boxing, golf, lawn tennis, table tennis, weight lifting, yachting.

Cook Islands: Athletics, lawn tennis, netball, boxing.