The famous off - season rugby league competition has resumed for the 2015/16 season.
After much delay in getting the Coca-Cola Ipatas Cup (CCIC) started towards the end of last year, it was finally got off the ground with the Chimbu Leg of the competition played in Lae over the weekend.
Chief Executive Officer Timothy Lepa said the Chimbu game was stage in Lae because the playing field in Kundiawa was in bad shape as well as other issues.
He said they had in the past encountered many issues which had disrupted the competition in the past.
"We have all agreed to move the games to Lae because the Kundiawa Dickson Oval is not good for playing.
"Also, there were issues relating to other the games and we didn't complete the matches properly.
"Lae is a natural area so the participating teams agreed to move to Lae," he said yesterday.
CCIC official Toksy Mona Clyde said they had eight teams taking part in a round-robin competition starting on Friday and ending on Sunday.
He said these teams were drawn in two pools and the winners of both pools were given a gold pass each.
He explained that normally the overall winner is issued with such a pass. But for Chimbu, it was special because they had to travel all the way to Lae at their own expense for the games.
The CCIC is one of the biggest off - season competition that has identified many potential players who have never been exposed to organised or formal competitions.
The initial idea of the competition started in Enga Province by its Governor Peter Ipatas (Sir now).
After successfully staging the first couple of games, they extend the competition to other Highlands Provinces and eventually, the country.
Drink giant Coca-Cola Amatil (CCA) has been a loyal sponsor since the beginning and remain so over the past decade.