What a start that was yesterday! Day 1 of the annual Fiji Secondary Schools Athletics Finals at the National Stadium in Suva lived up to expectations in as far as competition on the track and field was concerned.
So as we head into Day 2, we once again ask the big question, where to from here?
This is like the age-old question experts and supporters have been asking over the years.
It makes sense when you consider or reflect on the rich history of this annual event.
It’s athletics rivalry, where the best of the best in our schools system converge on one venue to live their dreams, and dazzle the fans.
Every year we unveil stars of the games. We talk about and marvel at their skills, pace, strength and determination. We unveil athletes who were relatively unknown until they emerged at the Fiji Finals.
We unveil names from some not too well known schools.
Yet every year, we will continue to wonder how they will progress.
Again, you’ve got to be at the Fiji Finals to realise and appreciate just how big it truly is, and why there has to be some system in place that encapsulates the talents on show, and provides them an outlet to reach out for the stars.
The ultimate challenge should be to provide a pathway that nurtures such young up and coming high schools athletes to eventually realise their aspirations at the highest level of the sport.
And we are talking about the highest pedestals. We are talking about winning gold medals at the Pacific Games, the Commonwealth Games and the Olympic Games!
That should mean us identifying and nurturing our very own Usain Bolt right here at home.
We’ve said this before, that the onus is always going to be on us to pave the way for this to happen.
And that means drawing a clear pathway that takes our young athletes from this event to the next level, providing them support and financial backing all the way. It will mean motivating them to remain in athletics, be motivated to stay focused, and work on progressing in their favourite events.
Now that’s not going to be easy. But it has to happen if we are to reap rewards from this amazing competition. We have to find a way to motivate our stars to remain in athletics. And again, that will mean financial considerations. Imagine our youngsters getting top quality training, expert advice and the motivation to train hard!
There are already a lot of positives here. We have the numbers in terms of quality athletes. We have the support base at the school level, and we have the Fiji Finals! What we need now is the will to take that next step!
After yesterday’s great start, we look forward to more exciting stuff today at the Laucala Bowl!
