[?]idespread

Activity For Suva Games

Fhe South Pacific Games uncil is to decide whether it 1 reduce the two-year resi

itial qualification required be

-2 some sportsmen can take t in the South Pacific Games. \PUA-NEW GUINEA wants the qualification reduced to six iths. he two-year qualification applies expatriates living in the Islands. ua-New Guinea has pointed out he Director of Games Organisa , Mr. F. J. Coyne, in Suva, that rnational competitions, including Empire Games, require only a months residential qualification. said that expatriates were not t-term visitors to P-NG but lie intending to make their ers in the Territory. the two-year qualification is ined a number of NG stars will mable to compete at Suva, he first South Pacific Games— Olympics of the South Seas— be held in Suva for a week nning on August 29. bout 600 athletes and officials i 13 territories will go to Suva, in addition Fiji itself, the host tory, will have a strong con ;nt.

The Teams ie largest contingent is coming i New Caledonia which is send -125 competitors and officials, len comes Western Samoa with American Samoa with 88, Papua- Guinea with 80, French Poly i with 60, Tonga 40, New rides 34, Niue 32, the Solomons the Cook Islands 25, Nauru 20, is and Futuna Islands 10 and Gilbert and Ellice Islands 8. early all of them are now tically engaged in training, ination and fund-raising pro imes. le most active is probably P-NG, h has set itself a target of 300 by public subscription, which be matched on a £ for £ basis by Administration. irious fund-raising schemes are •peration from one end of the territory to another. One Gov lent department and two big

commercial firms are deducting voluntary contributions from employees’ wages every week.

Chairman of P-NG’s Central Fund Raising Committee for the Games, Mr Le ? Michel, S a id in Fort Mo resb y on a population basis P-NG was one of the greatest sportmg countries m the world”.

Amateur athletics dubs on little Nauru have also been working specially hard lately to send a first class team to the Games. The Nauruans have five clubs. A sixth club—the Nauru Amateur Athletic Club—is composed mainly of Gilbert and Ellice Islanders, with a few Nauruans, Chinese and Europeans.

All clubs are affiliated with the Nauru Amateur Sports Association.

An official of the Nauru Amateur

Athletic Club, Mr. B. Morley, has sent PIM roneoed copies of 10 recent meetings of his club, which indicate that there are some pretty good performers on Nauru.

“Our dub would be delighted to exchange results with any amateur association in the South Pacific,” Mr.

Morley said , , Our coach and one of the founda- I 1 ? 11 , mem £ ers , 15 Robbie Morgan ,M°rrls > "! h , 0 , 15 a well-known Ausf a ! an a ‘ h '« e and , a fo ™ el ; £us trahan. 3 ,’. 000 metres stee P lechase cna mpion.

A New Caledonian Swimming League has been formed in Noumea to organise, control and encourage swimming in the territory. The president is Mr. Henri Daly, well

lown in local sporting circles.

One of the league’s first tasks is look over local talent to ascertain any swimmers are worth sending the South Pacific Games. First als were held in April.

Swimming has been sadly neglected a sport in New Caledonia in the it few years. But there are plenty natives who are extremely power -1 swimmers who probably only ed expert training to become ampions.

The French Ministry of Sport has dertaken to pay the cost of trans rting the New Caledonian team to va. The Ministry has also made j same offer to the New Hebrides d Tahiti, but a Noumea corres ndent says that priority will be ren to New Caledonia.

New Hebrides athletes, officials id spectators hope to charter a 2-4 aircraft to fly them to and >m the Suva Games. If enough ssengers are forthcoming to make 2 charter possible, the flight to va will be made between August and 29, and the return flight be een September 7 and 9.