THE HONOURABLE MINISTER FOR YOUTH AND SPORTS
MR LAISENIA TUITUBOU

Opening Address at 2017 Tailevu Zone Athletics Competition at ANZ Stadium on Wednesday 20th March at 8.00am.  

•    The President of the Tailevu Zone Athletics Association
•    Associate Sponsors, Principals, Officials, Parents and Supporters
•    And athletes from schools of Tailevu.
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Ni sa Yadra Vinaka, Namaaste and Welcome!

Let me begin by thanking the organising committee for the invitation to address you this morning. It is a great honour to be here to officially open the Tailevu Zone Athletics Competition.

I take pride in being able to see and watch our budding sporting personalities such as yourselves compete against each other to stamp your mark at your zone’s competitions. It is a pleasure to witness young athletes put their hands up to be taken notice of by their peers and fellow competitors as it brings out the best in them.

Today is a day whereby we will watch our athletes from all schools under the Tailevu Zone banner doing just this. They will run, jump and throw in their best attempts to qualify on merit for the annual Coca Cola Games and I know that you will do your school proud with your efforts.

With the theme for this year’s competition being ‘United We Stand to Restore and Rebuild’ after last year’s devastating effects of Tropical Cyclone Winston on participating schools, I am gladdened to see you turning out here in numbers to take part in the 2017 Tailevu Zone.

I also commend all participating schools here today as part of the greater Tailevu family for enduring and uniting as individual schools to shoulder the burden and rising to meet the challenge to maintain academic pursuance and other aspects of education that included sports and social events. It is endearing to also note that all the Winston affected schools within the Tailevu Zone achieved exceptional academic performance either closer to 100 per cent and at 100 per cent in the external examinations of Year 12 and 13 despite facing the brunt of the Category Five Cyclone. In that respect, I hold all of the schools present here today in very high regard.

As I look at the determined gazes on your faces, one thing is for certain, all of you athletes have prepared to your level best and that is all anyone can ask of you. No one else but you knows the extent of your preparations in anticipation of these games. All you can hope for is to perform to the best of your abilities and make your loved ones proud.

I am here to offer nothing more than encouragement. So as you take the field, push yourself to go that extra mile.

I know that this is not an occasion for long speeches and I wish to leave you with a quote from Muhammad Ali, one of the greatest icons in the history of sport.

He once said: “Champions aren’t made in gyms. Champions are made of something they have deep inside them - a desire, a dream, a vision. They have to have the skill, and the will. But the will must be stronger than the skill.” And also – “I hated every minute of training.

I call on you athletes to leave your mark at this year’s games and to one day look back at this moment in time with a grin on your face knowing you competed in this arena against Tailevu’s best.  

I wish to congratulate the school and individuals that will come out as winners at the conclusion of the zone competition. May you all participate in a spirit of friendship and may Fiji athletics be the winner.

It now gives me much pleasure to declare the 2017 Tailevu Zone Athletics Competition open!

Vinaka vaka levu.

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