The heat is on, stay safe
The Coca-Cola Games 2023 will take place from April 27 to April 29.
As the zonal meets come to an end, the tracks around Fiji are on fire.
There is a lot of excitement as the zone qualifiers prepare to ignite the tracks at the HFC Bank Stadium.
A sincere reminder to the students to pay close attention to their safety while taking part in the competitions, both on and off the tracks, and especially while riding in the buses.
Best wishes for the Coke Games this year to all the athletes.
My two favourite teams, Natabua High School and Jasper Williams High School of Lautoka, in particular.
Regards and best wishes go out to the Ba Sanatan College teachers and athletes who are representing the school.
Go and do us proud!
DINESH KUMAR, Ba
Athletes to battle it out
The hard work and mental preparation of our athletes will be put to test when they battle it out for a gold, silver and bronze medal during the three-day Coca Cola Games meet in Suva.
The Fiji Finals, as it is commonly known, will bring hundreds of athletes together to compete at the highest level.
Old scholars and parents and guardians will also travel to the stadium to provide the much-needed morale boost.
Suva Grammar School and Adi Cakobau School will have to dig deep to defend the boys’ and girlss titles as performances from Marist, which is being coached by Antonio Rabouliku, RKS, Natabua and QVS have stood out in the boys’ division, while MGM High, Jasper, St Joseph’s and Suva Grammar have been impressive in the girls’ division.
Athletes need to be well-looked after and spectators must be reminded to enjoy the thrills and spills of the Coca Cola Games with a good heart.
Let’s energise ourselves for clean and healthy competition.
My best wishes to the organisers, officials, athletes and supporters!
Rajnesh Ishwar Lingam, Nadawa, Nasinu
To and fro
The to-ing and fro-ing of the former Bainimarama government “Big Man ” Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum for police interviews reminds me of the television show Expedition Unknown.
When the show ended the expedition remained unknown!
But it was entertaining just like the Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum show!
Rajend Naidu, Sydney, Australia
So much turmoil
So much turmoil in a Rugby World Cup year doesn’t bode well. Wales and Australia might take note of the Drua’s performance and come with proper game boots, only to find that we went undercooked.
Georgia and Portugal might cause us problems and deny us the two easy wins almost guaranteed in the pool.
Uruguay comes to mind.
A World Cup year should be a year where we struggle, not with paisa but with team selection due to the vast pool of talent at our disposal.
Paisa has never been at our disposal, nothing has been actually.
Donald Singh, Suva
Red fire!
If you’re approaching Marist Brothers’ High School and suddenly you’re feeling warm, balmy and sweaty, it has nothing to do with the weather.
You are feeling the heat from the Marist athletics camp.
Red Fire!
Wise Muavono, Balawa, Lautoka
Lautoka roads
Just a follow up to my letter yesterday I just want to thank Higgins for the miracle that happened the other night at the road at the University of Fiji.
When I drove to Vuda yesterday morning, all the potholes were gone, the road was smooth as and there was no traffic jam.
Vinaka vakalevu Higgins and thank you for working at night.
Lisa Roxburgh, Lautoka
Staging point?
Is Fiji being used as a staging point for organised international crime syndicates?
It would appear so.
But they cannot operate without local “connections”.
So are Fiji’s law enforcement agencies up to speed with who these individuals and groups are?
Colin Deoki, Australia
It is changing
Weather is changing in the Western Division, getting cooler in the morning.
This weather might affect the grog lovers.
Cracks may open everywhere.
Eric, kere butterfly.
Navneet Ram (TD) Lautoka
Pothole fix
Please can the road authority of Fiji ask the pothole neighbours to put soil or mud in the potholes until the time when road authorities have time or money to come and fix them?
At least something is better than nothing.
SANJAY ARVIN LAL, Lautoka
First sight
This is the first sight local and international tourists see when they disembark from the twice daily ferry service to Levuka.
This was the first thing last Saturday that international tourists arriving on Blue Lagoon Cruises saw when they disembarked at Levuka.
This was the first thing last Monday when international tourists arriving on Captain Cook Cruises saw when they disembarked in Levuka.
First impressions, not a good look.
We are trying to promote Levuka as a tourism destination, particularly heritage tourism, but we cannot get an answer as to who is responsible for this eyesore.
We understood that the company who owns this building, which was destroyed during Cyclone Winston, would show some social responsibility and pride in our community by removing the remains of this building.
Further investigations have revealed that the company wants to remove the building, but has not been able to because the Department of Culture and Heritage will not give permission to do so.
Is there anyone out there who can resolve this issue?
John and Marilyn Milesi, Levuka
Western roads
Thank you for publishing the recent letters (26/4) about the deplorable road conditions in the West.
The whole area around Saweni at the top of the hill has been in an embarrassingly disgraceful condition for several years; filthy, gloomy, pot-holed and rusty empty shacks.
More like something in Haiti than what should reasonably be expected in “pristine” Fiji.
When are the authorities, whoever they are, going to find some pride and energy and organise a clean up?
Michael Scott, Morris St, Lautoka
True measure
The true measure of a nation is how it treats its weakest and voiceless.
Will the Coalition Government provide some redress and compensation for the gross unilateral injustice committed by the former government on FNPF pensioners many of whom have passed on since?
The pensioners affected are readily identified from it’s records and would number in the hundreds.
I am confident that the sum involved now would be a great deal less than the recently forgiven student loans.
Direct the FNPF board to make an ex gratia pro rata payment and remove this blot from our nation’s collective conscience.
Daniel Fatiaki, Nailuva Rd, Suva
A challenge
A reminder to Jan Nissar.
It’s not a seven-minute game.
It’s a 14-minute game.
Who’s the Mickey Mouse now?
Even the greatest spectacle in the world is under 10 seconds at the Olympics — the 100-metre sprint.
Fijians are still waiting for the details of the game or games you claim to have officiated at as challenged by our dear friend Raymond Singh who had called you out.
Put your money where your mouth is or take that seven-minute run at Lautoka Golf Course.
We are all ready to join in for that challenge with our running shoes.
Edward Kumar, Lautoka
