Minds Over

Apathy And "Malua" Fever

Fiji Is In Two

Noumea Games

From Alan Spark, in Suva With less than seven months now to the Second South Pacific

Games, the sports scene in Fiji

seems to be a mixture of apathy and anticipation. And this is the

territory which topped the points

score at the first games.

THE potential size of Fiji’s team has already been sharply cut with the withdrawal of the soccer and Rugby teams—this mainly on account of the change in dates for the games from September to December.

At the moment it appears that Fiji will be represented in athletics, swim ming, boxing, indoor basketball, women’s netball, table tennis, lawn tennis and weight-lifting.

But despite the fact that it is hoped to send a team of 120, the Fiji Amateur Sports Association has only just launched its appeal for funds.

The whole situation seems to border on the ridiculous—perhaps everybody is suffering from the well known malua fever so prevalent in Fiji.

Why Not Earlier?

In 1963 it was decided that there should be a South Pacific Games every three years. It was decided then where the second games should be held and when they should be held. Surely, fund-raising should have started then—at a time when sugar prices were high, when there was plenty of money in Fiji?

Now, in 1966 with the bottom hav ing dropped out of the sugar market, that £12,000 which is being sought is going to be so much harder to raise.

This “last-minute” scramble for funds is going to hurt someone, and if the full sum cannot be raised then the obvious answer will be to reduce the size of the team.

Some of the associations which are to be represented at the games have in fact been working quietly for some time to get the finance needed, but others have sat back in the expectation that all the work will

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be done by the Fiji Amateur Sports Association.

Meanwhile, financial considerations apart, it seems obvious that the Second South Pacific Games will be contested at a far higher level than were the first games at Suva.

The whole idea of the games has led to a real awakening of sporting interest in the islands.

In Fiji the level of sporting achieve ment has gone up in leaps and bounds —but nobody is deluding limself that Fiji will be able to dominate at Noumea in the same vay as it did at Suva.

Tangible proof of this has already :>een given in contests between teams Tom New Caledonia and Fiji.

In athletics and swimming especi dly the New Caledonians have de monstrated most convincingly that hey have learnt a lot. Fiji’s athletes md swimmers have been shown that f they are to hold their own in December then they must concen rate on training—and hard training it that.

Basketball Growth

One of the most outstanding in stances of sports growth since 1963 s indoor basketball, which in 1963 insisted of just one association Suva with less than 150 players.) Now there are well over 500 players n four associations—Suva, Vatukoula, and Taveuni. Suva still :ontinues to be the main centre for he sport, with between 40 and 50 earns taking part in the competitions ;ach week.

A recent Fiji tournament showed hat Suva was also still the strongest :entre, but improving standards in >ther centres will lead to a general improvement throughout Fiji.

Fiji men’s and women’s squads lave already been selected and are >eing given specialised coaching prior 0 final selection.

Amateur boxing, too, seems to be mjoying something of a boom. Asse rtions at Lautoka and Labasa vhich have been in the doldrums lave been successfully revived and he sport is probably as strong if lot stronger than it has ever been.

A tournament at Suva between Vestern Districts and Suva Districts howed that the Suva boxers have a trong advantage in experience, but tandards will improve once the .autoka boys have been at the game 1 bit longer.

Following the visit of the British Olympic coach Ron Pickering earlier in the year, athletics took on some thing of a new look.

The revival has, however, been confined to Viti Levu, where asso ciations now exist at Sigatoka, Lau toka, Ba and, of course, Suva, with other clubs at Nadi and Ra.

Training Camps Soon

There is no intention of allowing the interest to flag and the Fiji asso ciation is seriously considering train ing camps with the possibility of visits by two or three other over seas coaches.

Training is going ahead quietly in the swimming world, but it is none theless intensive, more so since the interchange of visits with New Cale donia when Fiji was able to see that New Caledonia had some very talented swimmers indeed.

The Women’s Outdoor Basketball Association has been fairly slow in getting its season going, but the asso ciation has not been backward in its fund-raising efforts, which have been going on for some months now.

Table tennis is another sport slow to get under way, despite the fact that Fiji is anxious to retain the title it won at the first games.

The lawn tennis people have been batting away quietly right through the year and competitions are now under way in most centres.

Although the Fiji Weight-lifting Association has indicated that it is interested in entering a team for the games, very little has been heard of this association.