The conference, which took place this weekend in the Papua New Guinea capital, is the second of its kind and will cover topics such as strength and conditioning, talent identification and screening, nutrition and hydration, and sports psychology and recovery.

A total of 140 national coaches and managers, as well as staff from the PNGOC's high performance division and the general management team for the Pacific Games, have confirmed their attendance at the workshop.

PNGOC high performance manager, Aaron Alsop claimed the interest in the conference has been overwhelming and the number of participants has doubled from last year. 

"We are investing in the infrastructure and facilities and it's equally important to invest in the people especially the coaches, managers and athletes because these are the people responsible for leading our teams and athletes," he said. 

"We want to help them by adding value, and investing in them by giving them the right tools, information, and associating with other professionals."

Justin Tkatchenko (right), Papua New Guinea's Minister for Sports, Pacific Games 2015 and National Events, will deliver the keynote address at the opening of the conference
©Getty Images



Also on hand to welcome the attendees was Sports Medicine Australia, Mark Brown and Gary Johnston, the chief executive of Australia University Sport, Don Knapp, and nutritionist Jo McCormack from Griffith University in Australia. 

Following the workshop, participants' progress will be monitored on a monthly basis as they put their knowledge into practice.

"The things we take away from this conference will no doubt prove very valuable and useful to our teams as we are preparing for the Pacific Games," said Papua New Guinea's Chef de Mission, Richard Kassman.

"But it does not end there, after the Games, take this knowledge back to your respective clubs and associations and implement it there to help develop your sport which will contribute to raising our standard of competition in the country."

Justin Tkatchenko, Minister for Sports, the 2015 Pacific Games and National Events, delivered the keynote address at the opening of the conference.

The Pacific Games is scheduled to take place between July 4 and 18, and will see more than 3,000 athletes from 21 nations compete across 28 sport and disciplines.

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