So what happens after this? Where do we go from here?
What happens to the thousands of top student athletes who grace the track and field at the National Stadium annually for the Fiji Secondary Schools Athletics Competition?
Do we have a pathway that is attractive? Do we have incentives for our young athletes to pursue a career in athletics?
It makes sense. In fact, it should be the way we do things in Fiji.
School athletics was recorded by The Fiji Times way back in the 1960s. That’s how long this has been going on. We are talking about decades of raw talent and generations of athletes passing through the system.
So we can only imagine the number of athletes who have represented their school with great pride.
Now that we have arguably the biggest and most popular student athletics competition in our region, we are left to wonder why we have not used this to boost athletics.
The way things have been going over the decades, we should have had champion athletes at the Commonwealth Games and the Olympic Games.
Understandably there is more money and incentives in professional rugby union and rugby league for instance.
And with soccer coming up now with the Bula Boys, there is money to be made in the sport.
So, with that in mind, we wonder what the incentives are for our budding athletes?
Or are we just going to organise them to compete every year and then leave athletics when they leave school?
Let’s face it, we have a base here. We have over 2500 athletes participating in the three-day event.
They come from 155 schools around the country, competing in 150 events. That is a powerful starting point!
In the boys’ division this week, defending champions Marist Brothers High School will be determined to hold on to their crown, but the road ahead isn’t smooth, and they have had stiff challenges from Queen Victoria School and Ratu Kadavulevu School from Tailevu, Suva Grammar School and Natabua High School from Lautoka, and even Xavier College from Ba in the first day. In the girls’ division, reigning champions Mahatma Gandhi Memorial High School will be chasing a historic third consecutive title.
They have been challenged by the likes of Adi Cakobau School from Sawani, Suva Grammar School, Jasper Williams High School from Lautoka CMF College from Nasinu and Ratu Sukuna Memorial School of Suva.
All these schools have what it takes to be the top runners.
In saying that, we can’t rule out any of the teams that will be competing in the competition. They have done the hard yards. They have made sacrifices and they have hopes and aspirations too.
It all makes for an exciting event at the Laucala Bowl.
But once the cheers fade and the medals are handed out, what happens then?
Let’s improve the end of the journey for athletes. We need structured pathways, investment and incentives to keep them in the sport.
In saying that though, this is it! We are into the final leg today, and there is anticipation, expectation and excitement. We say, bring it on!
