The hype’s building up! The fans are converging on the Capital City. The school contingents started arriving over the past few days. All the ingredients that make up the annual Fiji Secondary Schools Athletics Finals are here.
The excitement, the magical atmosphere and the interest! You can feel the vibe and the excitement!
The stage is set for an exciting start to the 2025 Fiji Finals at the National Stadium in Suva this morning.
We have over 2000 athletes from over 160 schools around the country converging on the Laucala Bowl for three days of top-level athletics.
The athletes will be competing in 150 events which includes heats and finals, for 32 gold medals on Day 1, 30 gold medals on Day 2 and 40 gold medals on Day 3.
When you add teachers, students, fans and supporters, parents and guardians, and old scholars, we should expect some high numbers over the three days. Now add the games officials, members of the security team at the stadium, and the police presence, and you’ve got a chock-a-block house!
This is where the best of our high school athletes meet to test themselves.
With weeks of preparation behind them, toned muscles itching to get into action, they will be raring to prove a point for their school, their family and fans, their old scholars and most importantly, themselves.
Let’s face it, this is arguably the biggest and most anticipated sporting event in the country.
This year, attention will undoubtedly be on defending champions Marist Brothers High School in the boys’ division, and Mahatma Gandhi Memorial High School in the girls’.
On paper, they will set the stage for this year’s games. Looking at results from around the country, Adi Cakobau School and Natabua High School are expected to be among the bolters in the girls’ division, with Queen Victoria School and Natabua High in the boys’ division.
However, this is the Fiji Finals! We’ve got to consider the fact that every athlete is focused on this event. It’s a chance to reach out for the stars so to speak, and sometimes, stars are unveiled from the lesser-known schools.
This is why the Fiji Finals is special.
Remember the late Reena Devi, the ‘barefoot track queen’ from Labasa? She captured the imagination of a nation when she won the junior girls’ 1500m race in 1984, running barefoot! She came out of nowhere, relatively unknown, to win and eventually represent the country at the 1985 mini South Pacific Games in the Cook Islands where she won a silver medal for Fiji in the 800m race. She was in Form 5 at the time.
This is why we say the Fiji Finals has a special place in the hearts and minds of thousands of Fijians for many reasons.
We can expect to see a kaleidoscope of colours on the field and on the stands starting today. Expect the stadium to be like a cauldron brimming with people from all walks of life.
Athletes will live their dreams.
They will push themselves to the limit and see how they compete against the best in their age groups.
One common factor binds them together over the three days. They will have the distinction of having competed at the highest level of high school athletics in Fiji.
The internet and high visibility in the media have raised the profile of this event to dizzying heights.
So what makes the Fiji Finals special?
It has to be the people! From the athletes to the support staff and everyone behind the scenes, the sponsors, members of the media, the fans and old scholars, the food sellers, the cabbies, to the bus driver servicing the many routes around the capital. There are many faces, hands, and brains behind what makes this annual event the great show it is today.
We wish all the athletes who will be participating this week the best and hope you will have positive memories of the 2025 Fiji Finals. Let the show begin!
