It’s that time of the year again, when schools around the country start their countdown to the popular Fiji secondary schools athletics finals.
Yesterday Suva school Marist Brothers High got its inter-house competition underway at the national Stadium.
Student athletes around the country are expected to start preparations for their inter-house competitions and eventually the inter-zone before they get ready for the big one, the Fiji Finals.
It seems many high school athletes are already gearing up for their inter-house competitions. This is the start of a journey most athletes will hope ends at the Fiji Finals.
That’s when thousands of students from around the country, their fans, school mates, former students, and parents and guardians are expected to converge on the National Stadium in Suva for three days of action-packed, fun-filled days of top class athletics action.
As usual, the athletes will be hoping to turn heads, attract attention and win a medal in what is arguably the biggest sporting event of its kind in this region.
The Fiji Finals has long captured the imagination of Fijians every year.
This year is special though.
The global COVID-19 pandemic cut out sporting events last year, and forced students to stay away from school for most of the year.
So this year, it is encouraging to note that students are gearing up for a return to sporting events. It does provide a refreshing feel, and a semblance of order for Fijians.
We are fortunate that we are in a unique position.
We are one of the few countries that are COVID-contained.
When you consider how the rest of the world is coping with the pandemic, you just have to feel grateful for the situation we are in right now.
So back to the athletics, the Fiji Finals have developed a huge following and is quite popular.
That’s when the elite of our athletes in our school system are exposed to a level of competition that is quite high.
This is where the best of our high school athletes test themselves.
Every athlete who gets the opportunity to grace the National Stadium wants to prove a point for their school, their family and fans, their old scholars and most importantly, for themselves.
Many would be trying to emulate their heroes. Over 2000 athletes from high schools around the country were part of the 2018 event. Over 2600 athletes were part of this amazing event in 2019, representing 154 schools around the country.
It is difficult to shrug off the impact the Fiji Finals has on the imagination of students, fans and parents around the country.
It has a special place in their hearts and minds for many reasons.
The internet and high visibility in the media have all contributed to raise the profile of the event.
The involvement of former students saw a rise in spectator numbers and intensity in preparation.
All that starts at the inter-house competitions.
That’s the base from where our young athletes will launch their athletics careers from. There must be hard work.
There are rewards for those who will make sacrifices now to achieve their dreams.
Lest we forget, we anticipate our children will enjoy the return of sporting events, but let’s remind ourselves about keeping the status quo as far as COVID-19 is concerned.
We wish every athlete the very best in their endeavours to reach out for the highest pedestal starting from their inter-house events.
