out of the Games

Money may yet keep Western Somoa out of the Games

From R. F. RANKIN, in Apia Attractive green and yellow posters for the South Pacific Games have already appeared on shop fronts around Apia but there are still serious doubts whether a Western Samoan team will make the trip.

If a team does go it will cer tainly be very much smaller than the 45-strong group which went to Noumea three years ago. Very few if any sporting bodies here can afford the S3OO or $4OO fare for each competitor.

When numerical entries closed at the end of January the Western Samoa Sports Federation had entered a team of 18 in the hope that some thing would turn up to enable the team to make the trip. The group is made up of athletes six, boxers five, weightlifters four, yachtsmen two, plus a general manager.

With representation cut to a mini mum the standard will be high. Our strength at Noumea lay in weight lifting and boxing (two gold medals each and several silver medals) and hopes will once again be pinned on these sports.

Gold medallist lightweight Moli is now in New Zealand. He was beaten in the finals of the Auckland cham pionship but is getting the best of training and will obviousy be the man to beat at Port Moresby.

Paul Wallwork is now studying in Australia and recently won the Aus tralian University middleweight championship, although he is a weightlifting gold medal winner.

With the sport pretty well organ ised, frequent competition between the two Samoas, and an enthusiastic following, boxing officials have tons of talent from which to choose other likely medal winners.

Samoan weightlifters too are con tinuing to improve and are confident they can better their efforts at the last Games.

The roads around the island these days are clogged with sweating youths jogging about in training for boxing and marathon racing.

It’s just unfortunate that finance poses such restriction on Samoan representation.