THE PERMANENT SECRETARY FOR YOUTH AND SPORTS
MR ROVERETO NAYACALEVU,

Saturday, 20th February 2021, 8:30AM

• Master of Ceremonies
• Church leaders
• The Raiwaqa Basketball Association
• My Ministry Staff

Ni sa bula vinaka and a very good morning to you all!

I would like to welcome you all to this grand occasion.

At the outset, I must commend the Raiwaqa Basketball Players Association for their commitment in maintaining consistency in the development of the basketball sport, it has positively impacted our youths.

It is an honour to be here to open officially open the Raiwaqa Basketball Inter-lane Championship today.

Ladies and Gentlemen, basketball has really developed and grown and this wouldn’t have been possible without the persistence and dedication of Basketball Fiji’s executives and the sportsmen and women who continue to love and play the sports at every local and international tournaments.

It’s a game played at a fast pace, with a strong sense of teamwork and like many other sports, requires players to possess the right attitude, athletic ability and skills.

Here in Fiji, the game is growing from strength to strength and is fast becoming a first tier sport for our young people as we increasingly see hard courts with hoops appearing around the country.

he Raiwaqa Basketball Players Association organized an inter-lane Basketball tournament followed by today’s inter-lane Championship. This is sure to be a thrilling and hard fought affair. I know that with all the hard work you have put in during training, all spectators will be in for a wonderful display of athletic ability over these coming days.

 Ladies and Gentlemen, since the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, many of us have adjusted to a new normal, and sports has been no exception to that. We are trying to revive basketball in Raiwaqa, and while other sporting organizations may wish to resume their sports season, competition and training, they must have in place their own guiding principles for a safer return.

This will enable them to receive the appropriate Ministry of Health required “ Accreditation” as issued by the Ministry of Youth and Sports and monitored by the Fiji National Sports Commission.

Though we have zero new cases of COVID-19, it is important that every sport sets up their own guiding principles to ensure we continue to break the chain of transmissions of the virus. This calls for a behavioural change for everyone involved in sports.

For sports to now compete either locally or internationally it is important that every sports sets up their own guiding principles to ensure we continue to break the chain of transmission.

Ladies and gentlemen, I wish to reiterate that Government will continue to provide support towards sports development – technically or financially. Government has been and will continue to invest in international standard sporting facilities to allow Fiji to host international tournaments for all sports. Several sports like swimming, weightlifting, volleyball have proven that they can organise and host international events. The challenge is on other minor sporting federations to establish their presence and so they can also be recognised by their International governing bodies and may approve them hosting tournaments here in Fiji.

The Fijian Government has also placed significant emphasis on the growth of our nation, whether it is from an economic perspective, social, health or from a political perspective. Government recognises that for our nation to reach the pinnacle of success and to maintain a holistic and sustainable growth we must channel substantive and consistent effort on our young people and one way is through sports development.

Thanks again for having me this morning and I wish all the players the best and also the organising committee.

With these few words, I now declare the Raiwaqa Basketball Inter-lane Championship open and I wish each team the best in your quest for gold.

Vinaka-vakalevu and thank you.

-ENDS-