The Fiji Bitter Wairiki 7s tournament organisers saw an increased interest from youth teams this year.
They had to turn down several clubs as they reached their target of 24 teams. Tournament director Iowane Gade said overall things were looking positive with the main rugby matches kicking off on Wednesday.
“For the senior men’s rugby, we targeted 32 but we managed to get 24 registered teams.
“For the under-21, we hit the target at 24 and we have four teams in the women’s division.
“We have 12 teams in the men’s volleyball, six in the women’s division, eight netball teams and five confirmed for football which starts tomorrow (today).”
Registrations for teams closed on January 8, however the men’s division was opened until Saturday night.
This year’s tournament is quite different from those held in previous years. “Firstly, it is part of a series now so that makes a huge difference.
“Secondly, our prizemoney has increased from $10,00 to $12,00 as Fiji Bitter has increased our sponsorship.
“So, we thought of giving it back to the teams as our sponsorship increased from $20,000 to $30,000 and it was only fair to increase our prizemoney.
“Thirdly, this year we got a group led by Talemo Waqa who the Oceania World Rugby representative and his team of educators is undergoing training here for the last few days.
“They will be helping us in running the tournament and try to lift the operating standards to a different level,” Gade said.
Major teams such as BLK Lavidi Brothers, Police White and Police Blue, Army, Warden, and Navy will be part of the tournament.
The tournament will be held at the Wairiki Parish Grounds in Taveuni.
