User:Oughtta Be Otters/sandbox/Cybele Druma

Cybele Druma is a rugby player and women's sports activist in Papua New Guinea. She is responsible for introducing women's rugby to the country, fighting deep societal resistance to women in sports. Druma was head of the Papua New Guinea Rugby Football Union, the national rugby organization, and is now the National Capital District Rugby Union president. She has been recognized internationally for her work, and is involved in promoting women's' opportunities in rugby worldwide.

Although the Papua New Guinea Rugby Football Union was founded in 1963, followed by PNG joining World Rugby in 1993, it took until 2006 for women's rugby to begin in the country. Druma was at the forefront of the movement to introduce rugby; she organized the Women's Rugby Union, bringing together over three hundred women, to offer opportunities for women to play. Although there were almost one thousand female players in Port Moresby soon after it was introduced, players dropped off rapidly and has only experienced a resurgence about a decade later.

She coached the women's team onto the world stage, competing in Darwin in 2006 and at the Hong Kong sevens tournament in 2007. (https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/pacific/168741/png-women's-sevens-compete-in-hong-kong-sevens)

Another event Druma founded in 2006 to support women's rugby is the "Rookie Sevens" tournament for women and juniors who wanted to play seven-a-side rugby. That first tournament had 16 teams participating, whereas by 2019 the tournament had four divisions with a total of 60 participating teams.

https://www.thenational.com.pg/rookie-sevens-founder-praises-port-moresby-teams-for-participating/

At the time, Druma predicted that a women's team would get to the Rugby World Cup in fewer years than the PNG men's team.

Awards

World Rugby Women’s Executive Leadership Scholarship 2019 (2019)

Westpac Outstanding Women (2017-2018)

-- when both qualified in 2018, she felt her prediction had come true.

“We had close to 1,000 [female players] just in the capital city alone in the early years, and other provinces also starting to get involved. But when the politics began that just caused everything to come to a complete standstill and it’s only in the last three years that serious attempts at the local level are being made to revive the women’s code to its former glory days.

my association (NCD Rugby Union), at the local level, we’re trying to deal with the politics and build a more inclusive culture around rugby, so people not just play the sport but feel like they belong, and that their voices are respected and valued.

Rugby League has become more popular than union among women in Papua New Guinea, primarily due to the structure that has been put in place.

Their women’s sevens side came within one game of reaching the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at the Oceania Rugby Women’s Sevens Championship in Suva at the start of November, losing a qualifying final to hosts and HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series core team Fiji.

Over the last 11 days, Papua New Guinea’s women’s 15s team have been competing in the Oceania Rugby Women’s Championship in Lautoka, Fiji, with a place at Rugby World Cup 2021 on offer.

Druma is an iconic enough figure in PNG that the Department of Education's 2009 civics curriculum refers to her in their lesson "Is She a Leader?" when they ask the teacher to explain: “We can easily recognize leaders like the captain of the national rugby team, simply because people take their picture and they are always in the news. However, there are also many much less visible leaders who do less exciting but often more important jobs.” http://www.transparencypng.org.pg/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/2916_TIPNG_Teachers_Resource_Book.pdf

__________, marshalling the support of over 300 women to form the Women’s Rugby Union. She was appointed to the position of chief executive officer of the PNG Rugby Football Union in 2007, one of the first woman in the world to be appointed head of a national rugby federation.

That same year she introduced an HIV/AIDS policy to the Women’s Rugby Union, the first sporting code in PNG to implement such a policy and it was commended by the PNG Olympic Committee.

is the National Capital District Rugby Union president, responsible for the growth and development of the code in Port Moresby with a formal membership of more than 1000 patrons.

In 2006 Cybele introduced women’s rugby to Papua New Guinea despite fierce opposition, marshalling the support of over 300 women to form the Women’s Rugby Union. She was appointed to the position of chief executive officer of the PNG Rugby Football Union in 2007, one of the first woman in the world to be appointed head of a national rugby federation.

That same year she introduced an HIV/AIDS policy to the Women’s Rugby Union, the first sporting code in PNG to implement such a policy and it was commended by the PNG Olympic Committee.

https://www.world.rugby/sevens-series/news/542901?lang=en

World Rugby Women’s Executive Leadership Scholarship 2019

PNGRU was founded in 1963

became a member of World Rugby in 1993

--2006 Druma helped introduce the women’s game to the country.

Competition from rugby league, a lack of government funding and archaic views on female sport had, according to Druma, helped to stifle the growth of the women’s game before a recent revival.


 * 1) mindset issue 2. politics- key factor in the decline of women’s rugby union.

“We had close to 1,000 [female players] just in the capital city alone in the early years, and other provinces also starting to get involved. But when the politics began that just caused everything to come to a complete standstill and it’s only in the last three years that serious attempts at the local level are being made to revive the women’s code to its former glory days.

my association (NCD Rugby Union), at the local level, we’re trying to deal with the politics and build a more inclusive culture around rugby, so people not just play the sport but feel like they belong, and that their voices are respected and valued.

Rugby League has become more popular than union among women in Papua New Guinea, primarily due to the structure that has been put in place.

Their women’s sevens side came within one game of reaching the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at the Oceania Rugby Women’s Sevens Championship in Suva at the start of November, losing a qualifying final to hosts and HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series core team Fiji.

Over the last 11 days, Papua New Guinea’s women’s 15s team have been competing in the Oceania Rugby Women’s Championship in Lautoka, Fiji, with a place at Rugby World Cup 2021 on offer.

“Thanks to TV and the Internet, this has enabled the education and exposure to happen around the country. But these mediums can also be a curse – especially when our teams are losing.

“We’ve found that even in very culturally engrained provinces, in terms of views and perspectives on women playing rugby, we’re starting to see a gradual shift towards acceptance of women playing rugby.

“This is also because the women and a few of the men folk – and we’ve really got to give credit to the men folk, who are championing women’s rugby across the country and driving the women’s code – it’s because of that partnership and support, that women are gaining confidence to step up now, in the numbers and say ‘Hey, we belong on the field too’.

“Women are now beginning to take ownership and leadership of the women’s programme, as well as the men’s programme, especially in areas where not long ago there would have been strong opposition to women taking part in rugby in any capacity.”

Druma knows her work is far from done. As part of her scholarship she plans to visit Iran in order to “see exactly how they’re able to grow women’s rugby in such rigid conditions, so that I might be able to find some ideas and inspiration in how we can do it better here”.

Grassroots remains her focus and Druma hopes to see women and girls playing rugby in all of Papua New Guinea's regions in the next two decades.

However, having competed at Rugby World Cup Sevens 2018 in San Francisco, a place at Tokyo 2020 remains a possibility. Papua New Guinea will contest a repechage in June, and Druma dreams of seeing even greater success in her lifetime.

“When I first introduced the sport for the women’s code, in 2006, I was of the strong belief that the women would qualify for a World Cup in a shorter space of time than the men and sure enough they did [both teams appeared at RWC Sevens 2018],” she said.

“If we’re talking the next 10 to 20 years, I definitely would love to see the Papua New Guinea women’s team win a World Cup.

“Obviously we have a lot of work to do in terms of putting the structures in place, and having the necessary vision at the national governing level in order to achieve that kind of end result, but it is absolutely possible, and is one of the things that I would like to see.

“I’d also love to see a woman take on the presidency of the governing body. I truly believe in the qualities of women’s leadership and in order to take our code to the next level, both in PNG and on the world stage, it is imperative that we have a healthy mix of both men and women on the board.”

https://www.thenational.com.pg/rookie-sevens-founder-praises-port-moresby-teams-for-participating/

ROOKIE Sevens founder Cybele Druma has praised Port Moresby teams for competing in last weekend’s rugby tournament and has promised a bigger event next year.

She said women and junior development were the core focus of the tournament with more emphasis to be given for the two divisions in future.

“We’re definitely looking at opening the floodgates as of next year, we’re looking at 120 teams to participate in the 2020 Rookie Sevens,” Druma said. “It’s really all about the teams, they’re the ones that make it big as it is. When we first started in 2006, we only had 16 teams and that was when women’s rugby was born in Papua New Guinea.

“We had four women’s teams and 12 Under-20 sides. We were basically improving the tournament for those two divisions. We’re grateful that teams continue to support the event.

“The two Moresby associations, Capital Rugby Union and National Capital District Rugby Union), have been supportive.

“It’s a great way to end of the year with that kind of unity within our rugby fraternity.”

Druma said this year’s tournament was the biggest so far with 60 teams across four divisions and the involvement of sponsors National Gaming Control Board and Melanesian Trustee Services.

https://postcourier.com.pg/four-world-rugby-womens-leadership-scholarships-awarded-oceania/

100 global applicants, CD one of 14 chosen

"Accelerating the global development of women in rugby 2017-2025 strategy"

-first year: 28% rise in women registering worldwide + 17 seats for women on the World Rugby Council

https://www.rugbyasia247.com/womens-leadership-development-scholarships-2020/ / https://www.asiarugby.com/2020/02/19/womens-scholarship-program/

Some of the previous scholarship winners and examples of academic courses include:

scholarship programme is to support talented women to further develop their Rugby Leadership potential.” The scholarships are open to women who:
 * Ada Milby, Jillion Potter, Vela Naucukidi, Cybele Druma, Lauren Rothwell, María Fernanda Vázquez Villatoro, Katharina Kueß have completed or are in the process of completing the Women in Leadership Certificate from eCornell University.
 * Are currently involved in Rugby at a governance level (Board Member) or,
 * Are currently involved in Rugby at a senior management level (third tier and above) or,
 * Have the potential to be involved in either a senior management level or Union/Region Board within 2 years. The scholarship can be used to support a combination of leadership development opportunities. Some examples provided are
 * Formal or informal education
 * Conferences,
 * Workshops
 * Mentoring
 * The value of each scholarship is up to £10,000 and can be used “to cover travel, accommodation, course or conference fees and any other costs associated with the individual scholarship activity plan.”

https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/pacific/168741/png-women's-sevens-compete-in-hong-kong-sevens

27 March 2007

The Papua New Guinea women's sevens team will step into the unknown this weekend.

It'll make its first appearance at the women's competition at the prestigious Hong Kong sevens tournament

PNG coach, Cybele Druma, concedes there's lots of nerves in the rookie team which has played in only two previous tournaments, late last year in Darwin and at home at the start of the year.

https://www.fijione.tv/news-posts/oceania-holds-inaugural-womens-leadership-workshop/

he inaugural Oceania Rugby Women’s Leadership Workshop formed part of a Super Week attended by professionals across the sport of rugby comprising of coaches, medical officials, technical officials, development managers and also women in leadership.

The workshop was held in Fiji as part of an initiative announced by World Rugby in 2017, designed to accelerate the global and regional development of women in rugby with the awarding of four Executive Leadership Scholarships to women from the Oceania region earlier this year in Cybele Druma (Papua New Guinea), Vela Naucukidi (Fiji), Cate Sexton (New Zealand) and Jane Schmitt (Australia). Twenty-five people from across Oceania and scholarship recipients from Ukraine (Irina Arkhytska) and Uganda (Regina Lunyolo) attended the three-day workshop last week.

https://postcourier.com.pg/ncdru-setting-a-new-benchmark/

https://www.thenational.com.pg/druma-is-png-women%E2%80%99s-rugby-president/

= Druma is PNG women’s rugby president = December 27, 2009

INCUMBENT Cybelle Druma was elected  president of the new Papua New Guinea Women Rugby Union Board recently in Port Moresby.

At its annual general meeting (AGM) on Dec 20 at Aviat Club, Druma retained her post while other members of the board are; Wayne Dorgan (vice president), Jennifer Tigilai (treasurer) and Josie Pitz (secretary).

Other members are Alex Haija and Kila Karara (players’ representative).

Alotau Rugby Football Union, NCD Women’s Rugby Union and Lae Women’s Rugby Union were present for the meeting, while West New Britain Rugby Football Union were unable to attend.

The new board comprise a wealth of experience in areas of administration, leadership and the game itself, to provide a powerful mix with the calibre, credibility and clout to take the game to new heights.

The inclusion of men on the board reflected the WRU’s principles of promoting equitable gender partnership in development of the women’s code and this shared role in the area of governance would ensure the fulfilment of goals over the next two years.

The meeting covered the 2007-2009 activities/programmes and milestones of the WRU.

It touched on the immediate and medium term plans focusing on programmes and support for union members, a new national tournament/competition pathway, rugby education, development of minimum standards, the PNG Raggianas and the 2010 calendar.

Moreover, the WRU is headed for exciting times, with the involvement of Dorgan, the managing director of Pacific MMI Ltd, as the incumbent vice president, who has a career spanning 35 years in management, and advisory capacity to a wide array of organisations, including multinational corporations and sporting bodies in Australia.

Dorgan’s skillset would bring considerable profit and balance to the board, and provide invaluable contribution to women’s rugby in PNG.

Mrs  Druma thanked all former executives and patrons of the WRU whose contributions had brought the code to its current state, as well as to the many partners and individuals who had stood firm behind the scenes to support the WRU.

She also thanked the incumbent board for “taking the call” and further indicated that with the mix of professionals and experience on the board, the future of the WRU and women’s rugby in PNG looked to be in good stead.

https://lorraineaspbae.wordpress.com/2018/03/

Cybele Druma is a women’s football pioneer, marshalling the support of over 300 women to form the Women’s Rugby Union in the face of fierce opposition 12 years ago, and was one of the first women in the world to be appointed head of a national rugby federation when she became CEO of the country’s rugby union governing body, the PNG Rugby Football Union, in 2007. She is now president of the National Capital District Rugby Union, responsible for the growth and development of the code in Port Moresby with a formal membership of more than 1000. (not in photo).

https://www.facebook.com/lilypngmag/photos/a.359218344197703/1610414369078088/

Finalist in the Moore Printing Sports Award 2017-18.

Cybele Druma is the National Capital District Rugby Union president, responsible for the growth and development of the code in Port Moresby with a formal membership of more than 1000 patrons.

In 2006 Cybele introduced women’s rugby to Papua New Guinea despite fierce opposition, marshalling the support of over 300 women to form the Women’s Rugby Union. She was appointed to the position of chief executive officer of the PNG Rugby Football Union in 2007, one of the first woman in the world to be appointed head of a national rugby federation.

That same year she introduced an HIV/AIDS policy to the Women’s Rugby Union, the first sporting code in PNG to implement such a policy and it was commended by the PNG Olympic Committee.

This photo of Cybele was taken from her Google+ page.

See Less