Papuans’ passion for sports peaked when they successfully organized the 20th National Sports Week during the Covid pandemic. This success shows that all the resources available in Papua are really helping the community to practice. Great sports facilities are built not only for success during the sports week but also for the community after the event. Future athletes in Papua are also blessed with excellent sports facilities and management that cares about producing professional athletes from Papua. After the National Sports Week event, Papuans took a break from sports. Papuan regional authorities were also perplexed by the declining interest of Papuans in sports, so they took the initiative to organize Regency Sports Week.
The Papua Division of the Indonesian Sports Commission organizes Regency Sports Week for the community in several districts of Papua Province. The goal of this sports week is to help Papuans get interested in sports again. The physical facilities are already complete, but with the competitions and awards from the sports week, the people of Papua will naturally be more interested in returning to sports. Regency Sports Week also follows a similar format to National Sports Week. Dozens of sports competed in the competition. So, not only popular sports like football, but also other sports. Thus, all residents of the Papua region feel challenged according to their ability and interest in playing the sports offered.
The end of sports week is expected to have multiple effects. Starting with how it will be easier for city officials to select talented future athletes who were previously invisible. New athletes are expected to be able to compete in a variety of sports. As the National Sports Week approaches, regional authorities need not worry about finding future athletes to be sent to represent Papua, as their talents will already be on display when the Regency Sports Week is held. The Regional Government and the Papua Division of the Indonesian Sports Commission just need to focus on facilities that can host training camps for athletes in various sports.
People flocked to get ready to participate in the competition. It can also be said that the rewards given by the city council and various sponsors are quite tempting. Also, the promise of nurturing athletes to excel at district sports weeks is an obviously attractive proposition. People believe that this event will increase their interest in returning to the sport.
