Plans Take Shape For South

Pacific Games In Suva

The territories taking part in the South Pacific Games in Suva from August 29 to September 7 have been getting a move on with their plans in the last few weeks.

IN Papua-New Guinea, an asso ciation has been formed at a public meeting in Port Moresby to organise a Territory-wide campaign to send a team to the Games.

The president of the Papua and New Guinea Amateur Athletic Asso ciation, Mr, F. Kaad, who is District Commissioner, Central District, con vened the meeting.

The association will not only work to send a team to Suva, but will con tinue as an organisation to arrange Territory representation at future South Pacific Games.

Officers elected were: President, Dr. J. T. Gunther; chairman, Mr.

Kaad; secretary, Mr, W. H. Williams; assistant secretary, Mr. O. Mc- Cubbery; treasurer, Mr. G. Little wood.

Vice-presidents will be appointed to represent each District centre.

Western Samoa A meeting of the Western Samoa Amateur Sports Federation confirmed early in February that at least 85 competitors and officials of eight different sports would represent Western Samoa at the Games.

The largest contingent will come from the Western Samoa Rugby Union which plans to send 25 players and officials. The Tennis Association and Athletics Association each intend to send 12; ladies’ basketball, 11; men’s indoor basketball, eight; volley ball, eight; bowls, six; and golf, two.

The golf club is the only organisa tion to have named its representatives.

They are A. Macdonald and N. Paul.

Tickets in a Federation £2OO Art

Union are already on sale, and it is expected that a Sports Queen Carnival will wind up fund raising efforts in June.

Over £3,000 is needed to outfit the team, send them to Suva and pay for their accommodation there.

An appeal for public support has been made by Federation president, the Hon. F. C. F. Nelson.

New Caledonia New Caledonia has tentatively entered in six sports at the Games.

They are football, athletics (men and women), boxing, swimming (men and women), basketball (men and women) and table tennis.

However, the nominations for box ing and swimming may be withdrawn.

There are no boxing stars on the local horizon at the moment and swimming has been sadly neglected in New Cale donia for years.

Competition swimming is handi capped by the absence of a swimming pool. The only thing approaching a pool is an Army enclosure in one of Noumea’s small bays. The enclos ing walls are in a bad state, but an effort is to be made to repair them and make the enclosure serve for training.

Local sporting bodies here hope that France will pay the expenses of the trip to Suva.

Meanwhile, an exceptional subsidy has been made to the New Caledonia Tennis League to enable it to send to Australia the young native player N’Godrella Wanaro (born in Fifou, one of the Loyalty Islands) this year. ( PJM, Jan., p. 6.)

These bures which spanned Victoria Parade, Suva, for the Queen's visit in Feb ruary, were soon after re-erected at Buckhurst Park, the main venue for the South Pacific Games, where they will be very useful.

Photo: S. Whippy