Despite all the drawbacks Levuka Public School faced over the past weeks, coach Vilisoni Rigamoto said they were coming into the games this weekend ready to win medals.
The school athletes had their preparation plans disrupted when their zone meet was cancelled after a dengue outbreak on Ovalau. They also had to deal with the three-time date change for the Coca-Cola Games – having hardly anytime for preparations.
“Our preparation was challenging,” Mr Rigamoto said.
“The zone that was supposed to be in week eight got cancelled due to the dengue outbreak and then it was postponed to week 10.
“The team had only one week to prepare.
“With the little time we had, our athletes still trained really hard, and they are really looking forward for the competition this week end.
“They are excited because for many, it’s their first time on Viti Levu so it’s going to be a good experience for them.”
Team captain Leone Varayame said the competition was a bit daunting for some of the athletes.
“Unlike other schools, we have no experienced runners, we are hoping to do our best for our parents and school.
“But we got a lot of support from ex-scholars living in Suva and teachers are encouraging us to work hard, and we are very grateful for this.”
