(UIB-08/07/2021) The National Sports Week or commonly abbreviated as PON (Pekan Olahraga National) is a national level sports event held in Indonesia. PON is held every 4 (four) years and followed by all provinces in Indonesia. The 2021 National Sports Week or PON XX is the 20th (twentieth) PON which will be held in Papua. This sporting event was originally going to be held in 2020, but was postponed to this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic that hit Indonesia. The host of this PON is Jayapura City, Papua. PON 2021 will be held from October 20 to November 4, 2021. The main location for the implementation of PON XX is at the Lukas Enembe Stadium, for both the opening and closing ceremonies. The slogan or tagline adopted in this edition of PON is “Torang Bisa” which is words of encouragement from Papua.
The main location for the 2021 PON is the Lukas Enembe Stadium. The stadium with a single seat capacity of 40,000 people is one of the largest stadiums in the Pacific with an area of 13.7 hectares. The Ministry of Public Works and Public Housing of the Republic of Indonesia has also carried out construction for four sports areas, namely the Aquatic Arena, the Papua Bangkit Sports Palace (Istora) in the Kampung Harapan Sports Area, the East Sentani District, the Cricket Arena, and indoor and outdoor hockey fields in Kampung Doyo Baru, Waibu District. Several supporting facilities such as an athlete’s house and a training field were also built in Harapan Village. In addition to Jayapura City, there are 3 (three) other regencies that are the location of the XX PON, namely Jayapura Regency, Merauke Regency and Mimika Regency.
The mascots of PON XX Papua are two unique Papuan animals, namely the tree kangaroo, which is named Kangpo, and the bird of paradise, which is named Drawa. The Kangpo mascot uses tassels on the head and waist as a representation of the oversized clothing from Papua, which is equipped with carvings on the belt. Kangpo is also equipped with the icon of Mount Jayawijaya placed on the front of the crown. Another mascot, Drawa, also has a crown and tassel. The chest is also equipped with red and white straps, as well as orange on the inside of the body as a symbol of warmth, friendship, and love. The yellow color represents the color of paradise which symbolizes enthusiasm and joy. The number of wings, tails and toes on Drawa’s legs characterizes the 2020 PON opening schedule, which is October 20, 2020, at 20.00 WIT. A total of 37 sports will be competed in four regions, namely Jayapura City, Jayapura Regency, Mimika Regency, and Merauke Regency.
Therefore, as a form of support for the Indonesian government’s program, Universitas Internasional Batam (UIB) participates in enlivening and supporting this program by participating in publishing on UIB’s website and social media. The hope for this activity is that the Indonesian people can adapt to Covid 19 and produce potential winners / sports people who can make the nation’s name at the international level later. (Public Relations)
