Members of the ARU Executive and Bluesky’s management

APIA: 26 June 2012: Bluesky today at a press conference proudly presented the Apia Rugby Union (ARU) with a sponsorship of $25,000 as exclusive naming rights of ARU’s National Provincial Championship representative teams for 2012.

The National Provincial Championships begins in July and will span over 18 weeks. ARU involves over 1,200 rugby players of all ages from the under 20’s division to Senior Reserve and Senior A representative teams.  Moreover, 40% of the current Manu Samoa squad and upwards of the National Sevens squad is made up of players from the Apia Rugby Union.

Bluesky Chief Operations Officer Tiafau Douglas Creevey who represented Bluesky at the press conference said, “We are honoured to be partners with the Apia Rugby Union in working towards the growth and development of the sport and the players. ARU is nationally recognized as a well-established union which has churned out many players who have gone on to become international rugby stars, and we are happy to be a part of this.”

Bluesky COO’s statement is echoed in ARU’s success with consecutive wins with the National Provincial Championship trophy in the past years since it’s inauguration in the early 1990’s.  By virtue of a ratio, the Apia Rugby Union has won this provincial competition an estimated nine out of ten times.  It also recently named strong representative squads to defend its trophy this year.

ARU President Tauloa Lui asserted “We gladly accept Bluesky as our naming rights sponsor this year, with Bluesky’s profound reputation in supporting and contributing to myriad of sports and its development in Samoa, we couldn’t have considered a more suitable company to represent us.”