Wagina Island in Choiseul Province successfully staged its volleyball competition over the festive and New Year period.
Reports said, the competition was held from 29th December 2025 to 3rd January 2026 with a sponsorship of lucrative cash prizes up for grab.
A newly operated local seaweed buyer company called Jay-Tatz Holdings (SI) Company lightened up the Wagina ward Christmas and New year 2026 celebrations by sponsoring the prizes.
Wagina Ward Member of the Provincial Assembly (MPA) Tongoau Tabe wrote a proposal letter to the Managing Director Miss Tarie Tentaku who was originally from Arariki village in Wagina.
She agreed with the Volleyball tournament proposal and offered prizes.
For mens:
1st – $6,500, 2nd – $5,000, 3rd – $4,000 and 4th – $2,000.
For women:
1st -$5,000, 2nd – $4,000 3rd – $3,000, 4th – $2,000.
The first prizes also included two trophies.
Consolation prizes were also presented.
The competition attracted 16 men teams and 10 women teams.
The highlight was a team composed of some current and old national volleyball players from Honiara and Gizo.
The company also organised raffle tickets with prizes of smart phones being given out.
Registration fees and sales of raffle tickets totaled to about $20,000.00 was shared back to the three main communities as part of the company’s kind gesture to give back.
The total budget for the tournament was about $50,000 met solely by Jay-Tatz Holdings.
The youths, women , community and church elders were very pleased with such give back from such locally owned seaweed company, the MPA Tabe said.
“It would seem that this will become an annual tournament,” he said.
The finals for women saw Arariki 1 defeating Nikumaroro 1 by 2 sets to 1 while the Nikumaroro 1 Mens defeated the cisiting Honiara-Gizo mix team called Jay-Tatz team 3 sets to 2.
The closing and prize presentation was highlighted with youths dancers from Nikumaroro Village and closing prayer by the United church Superintendent minister Rev. Teariba Tibwere.
MPA Tabe said, the key message of this event is, if a local company owned by our own people like Jay-Tatz holdings (S.I) Limited can do such community give back, it’s a lesson for other existing local companies and Asian businesses to do the same.
“This give back was first of it’s kind that is community and people- driven. Not attached to mining of logging and so forth. This is pure give back to resource owners,” he said.
Wagina has been described as the King of Seaweed farming in Solomon Islands.
