TNT - it's better than Dynamite

Touch is back in Tonga, and Tonga National Touch (TNT) is Tonga's newly revamped national Touch Football Association. The Association's first official weekly competition kicked off last November and has a month to run until finals.

Sixteen teams are involved in the Mens and Mixed competitions that are running at Apifo'ou College on Nuku'alofa's waterfront. The teams come from all over the island of Tongatapu and from abroad, from the ex-pat Masters in the Mixed to the table topping Nukunuku Wildcats in the Mens who are primarily juniors from Tongatapu's Western District. Each team is chasing the inaugural Billfish Cup and $TOP800 of prize money that will go to the winner.

The competition is the result of the reforming of the Tonga National Touch Committee, which has been dormant for the last four years. The committee this time around however is an eclectic mix of touch experience with touchies who learned the game in Australia, New Zealand and England returning to the island to help foster the game.

The committee has undertaken two referee-training courses, under the guidance of aussie ex-pat Lano Fonua (TNT Director of Referees) to help prepare for the expansion to three competitions later this year. The aim is to ultimately establish a competition in each of Tonga's three major island groups and hold a yearly TNT Tournament between representative teams from the competitions and abroad.

Liz Sullivan President of the TNT summed up the hopes that the new touch movement has .

"Touch is just a really great sport and we want to get people involved in something fun and healthy, both the boys and the girls. There isn't much organised amateur sport here so we really want to get competitions started everywhere we can. We don't expect to move mountains at first but watch this space and who knows maybe Tonga can be there at the 2015 Touch World Cup".

Stay tuned for news of Tonga's new website. Coming soon!

* Pictured: TNT Director of Referees, Lano Fonua (2nd from right) runs Tonga's latest referee hopefuls through the basics.