The Fiji Secondary Schools Athletics Association says considering the unfolding events due to COVID-19 and in support of the Prime Minister’s announcements, the Coca-Cola Games will be reviewed to a later date which will be subject to approval from the Health and Education Ministries considering all things possible to stage such a national event.
Fiji Secondary Schools Athletics Association Secretary Vuli Waqa says there is a possibility that the Coca-Cola Games could even be held in Term 3.
Waqa says they have been advised by the Education Ministry to put aside the dates but carry on with the plans to have the Coca-Cola Games this year if the approval comes from the relevant authorities.
He says they have discussed in a meeting with the Ministry yesterday and they have also confirmed that those schools and supporters that have bought their tickets already can keep their tickets until the games are held later their year.
The Association had also highlighted that considering the unfolding events due to COVID-19 and in support of the Prime Minister’s announcements, the Coca-Cola Games will be reviewed to a later date which will be subject to approval from the Health and Education Ministries considering all things possible to stage such a national event.
They have now withdrawn the earlier statement where they had said that the Coke Games was likely to be held in August.
The Coke Games was scheduled to begin tomorrow.
The Fiji Secondary Schools Athletics Association says considering the unfolding events due to COVID-19 and in support of the Prime Minister’s announcements, the Coca-Cola Games will be reviewed to a later date which will be subject to approval from the Health and Education Ministries considering all things possible to stage such a national event.
They have now withdrawn the earlier statement where they had said that the Coke Games was likely to be held in August.
Association President, Marika Uluinaceva says they have met with Education Minister Rosy Akbar for further updates and briefs by all parties to ensure the safety of all Fijians remain paramount.
The Coke Games was scheduled to begin tomorrow.
Fiji Secondary Schools Athletics Association Secretary Vuli Waqa says they plan to have the Coca Cola Games in August if the approval comes from the government.
Waqa says they have been meeting today and were waiting for the Prime Minister’s announcement to make the call.
He says they will need to abide by the restrictions announced.
Association President, Marika Uluinaceva says they continue to engage in dialogue with key stakeholders to work toward a possible end of second school term event which is planned for August 19th to 21st.
Uluinaceva says they feel the pain of having to defer a national event in light of all athletes having prepared well.
The Prime Minister says over the next 14 days, major events, including the Coca Cola Games, university graduations and rugby matches, will have to be cancelled.
The secondary schools athletics competition was scheduled to be held from this Thursday to Saturday.
2,500 athletes were expected to gather at the ANZ Stadium for the games.
The Fiji Secondary Schools Athletics Association and Coca Cola will make an announcement on this year’s Coca Cola Games later today however safety for Fijians will be the priority.
The secondary schools athletics competition was scheduled to be held from this Thursday to Saturday.
2,500 athletes were expected to gather at the ANZ Stadium for the games.
Stay with us for updates.
Marist Brothers High School will not have a runner in the senior boys 100m event in the Coca Cola Games.
The President of the Suva Zone Two Athletics Association, Savenaca Muamua confirms Bronson Lee of Marist who finished fourth in the Senior Boys 100 metres event in the Coca Cola Suva Zone Two has failed to meet the qualification time.
Tevita Sokiveta and Tevita Mocekinasau of Suva Grammar School and Pranav Datt of Jai Narayan College have qualified from Suva Zone Two.
Sokiveta came first while Mocekinasau and Datt finished second and third respectively in the 100m race in the Suva Zone Two.
The Coca Cola Games will be held from next Thursday to Saturday at the ANZ Stadium.
Nadi Sangam College will be bringing a smaller group of athletes for the Coca-Cola Games due to the effects of COVID-19.
School Principal Nazerin Rehman says they usually bring more than 40 athletes but will only be bringing 10 this year because most of the parents are either unemployed or on reduced hours since last year.
Rehman says a number of good athletes who represented the school in previous years have gone to other schools because their parents have moved away from Nadi due to the pandemic.
She says some students who had taken part in recent years did not show interest to participate this year.
Rehman says despite the challenges they have prepared well and are eager to take part in the event.
She says funding was an issue but they are grateful to some sponsors who have come out to provide timely assistance to the school.
Rehman adds they have also used some money from their PEMAC funds.
The Coke Games will be held from next Thursday to Saturday at the ANZ Stadium.
Defending girls champions, Adi Cakobau School will be banking on their sprinters in the short distance events to win gold medals in their bid to successfully defend their title.
Coach, Antonio Raboiliku says they have high hopes on their sprinters as they usually get most of their medals from the tracks.
Raboiliku says they will have to work hard to provide competition for other schools in the middle and long-distance events.
He says they have already covered about 60 to 70% of their objectives in terms of training the athletes and are now polishing up on whatever remains to be done.
ACS got 17 gold, 12 silver and 10 bronze medals in the 2019 Games.
The Coca-Cola Games will be held from next Thursday to Saturday at the ANZ Stadium.
Some of the top contenders for the Senior Boys 100m race in the Coca-Cola Games had close finishes in the recent Athletics Fiji competition at the ANZ Stadium.
Tevita Sokiveta of Suva Grammar School clocked an electronic time of 11.28 seconds.
Sokiveta won the Senior Boys 100m race in the Coca Cola Suva Zone II.
Joshua Daudravuni of Ratu Sukuna Memorial School who won the 100m race in the Suva Zone I clocked a time of 11.3 seconds.
Anare Sailo of Lelean Memorial School who won gold in the Senior Boys 100 metres in the Triple N Zone finished the race in 11.40 seconds.
Pranav Datt of Jai Narayan College clocked a time of 11.47 seconds.
In the girl’s division, Marian O’Neil of St Joseph’s Secondary finished the open women’s 100m race with a time of 12.7 seconds.
She won the Senior Girl’s 100m in the Suva Zone II.
The Coca-Cola Games will be held from next Thursday to Saturday at the ANZ Stadium.
It will start at 10am next Thursday with the Junior Girls High Jump.
Jasper Williams High School has received a $7,000 sponsorship from Extra Supermarket for their sports uniforms for next week’s Coca Cola Games.
School Principal Vanita Sharma says the sponsorship was a blessing in disguise as they and the Parents and Teachers Association found it hard to look for sponsors due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Extra Supermarket Managing Director, Kavishay Abhimannu says the Coca Cola Games is Fiji’s premier school level athletics competition and this year it is special as Fiji has become COVID-contained even as the rest of the world continues to be severely affected.
Abhimannu says at Extra, they believe that the spirit of sportsmanship and fair competition should be nurtured to develop a healthy nation.
Suva Grammar School long-distance champion runner John Riccardo will be one of the athletes to look out for in the Intermediate grade in the Coca-Cola Games next week.
Riccardo won a gold medal in the Intermediate Boys 800 metres and 1,500 metres at the Suva Zone 2.
He says they started training in September last year.
Riccardo says this is his first year competing in the games.
He says he joined Suva Grammar School this year.
Riccardo adds he has always wanted to attend Suva Grammar School since he was in Year 9.
He says his main source of motivation to continue to work hard everyday is his mother.
The Coca-Cola Games will be held from next Thursday to Saturday at the ANZ Stadium.
Mahatma Gandhi Memorial High School student, Nirav Kumar says he wants to make his father proud in the Coca-Cola Games next week.
Kumar who won gold in the sub-junior boys 400 metres and 800 metres in the Coca-Cola Suva Zone 1 is the son of former Nasinu and Suva soccer rep, Nitan Kumar.
The Year 9 student says he knows there will be stiff competition from athletes from top schools however people should expect the unexpected in the Coke Games.
Kumar says his father is his inspiration.
He is also part of the Royals Athletics Club.
Renowned athletics coach, Antonio Raboiliku is now helping MGM athletes.
Raboiliku is best remembered for guiding Jasper Williams High School to win the 2013 and 2014 Coke Games.
He then helped Adi Cakobau School to regain their top status and coached the girls from Sawani to win the 2019 Coke Games.
The Coca-Cola Games will be held from next Thursday to Saturday at the ANZ Stadium.
Renowned athletics coach, Antonio Raboiliku is now helping Mahatma Gandhi Memorial School athletes for the Coca-Cola Games.
Raboiliku is best remembered for guiding Jasper Williams High School to win the 2013 and 2014 Coke Games.
He then helped Adi Cakobau School to regain their top status and coached the girls from Sawani to win the 2019 Coke Games.
MGM will send 11 athletes to this year’s games.
An athlete to look out for will be Year 13 student, Veronika Baro who is a former ACS student.
Baro won gold in the senior girls triple jump and long jump events in the Coca Cola Suva Zone One.
Baro who was named the best female athlete in the Suva Zone One also set a new record in the senior girls triple jump event with a jump of 9.4 metres.
Nirav Kumar is another promising athlete as he also won two gold medals in the Coca-Cola Suva Zone One.
The year 9 student won the sub-junior boys 400 metres and 800 metres finals.
The Coca-Cola Games will be held from next Thursday to Saturday at the ANZ Stadium.
Grandstand tickets for the Coca-Cola Games have been sold out while the concrete and grass embankment tickets are on sale.
Fiji Sports Council CEO Litiana Loabuka says they will continue to adhere to the 50% seating capacity for venues under the Ministry of Health Post COVID-19 Guidelines and given this, limited tickets are available.
The concrete embankment tickets are $12 while the grass embankment tickets are $10.
The Coke Games will be held from next Thursday at the ANZ Stadium.
Athletes living in and around the Lautoka area will have another chance to improve their performance at a Athletics Fiji Competition at Churchill Park this weekend.
It will give them the chance to gauge their performance before the Coca-Cola Games.
The Athletics Fiji Competition at Churchill Park will start at 11am this Saturday.
The events that will take place are the 1,500 metres, Long Jump, Shot Put, Javelin, 100 metres, 50 metres, 400 metres, Triple Jump and the relay events.
The Coca-Cola Games will be held from next Thursday to Saturday at the ANZ Stadium.
Apenisa Talenaua aims to replicate what Tilesh Naidu did for Swami Vivekananda College and win the Senior Boys 100 metres title at the Coca-Cola Games.
Talenaua ran a manual time of 10.69 seconds as he won the Senior Boys 100 metres title during the Nadi Zone.
Talenaua who is from Cakaudrove says he feels he will face stiff competition from Tevita Sokiveta of Suva Grammar School and Natabua’s Josevata Rasoi.
He further says he is preparing well to give his best.
Former student Tilesh Naidu won back to back gold in the Senior Boys 100 metres race in 2000 and 2001.
The Coca-Cola Games will be held from next Thursday to Saturday at the ANZ Stadium.
Despite the effects of COVID-19 being felt in Nadi, ex-scholars of Swami Vivekananda College have stepped in to ensure that the logistics are taken care of as the school prepares for the Coca-Cola Games.
Team coach, Deepak Narayan says there are no issues for them as ex-scholars have helped them with their accommodation and other logistics.
Narayan says 50 athletes will be carrying the hopes of Swami Vivekananda College in the Coke Games.
Narayan says their strength is in the sprint events as they have good runners in the 100 and 200 metres.
Narayan says they also have some good athletes in the high jump event as well.
One athlete to keep an eye on will be Senior Boys 100 metres athlete, Apenisa Talenaua who ran a manual time of 10.69 seconds in the Nadi Zone.
The Coke Games will be held from next Thursday to Saturday at the ANZ Stadium.
The number of schools that will participate in this year’s Coca-Cola Games has decreased when compared to 2019.
Fiji Secondary Schools Athletics Association Secretary Vuli Waqa says in 2019 they had about 120 schools.
Waqa says no schools from Macuata Zone 1 will be taking part while only 6 schools from Macuata Zone 2 are expected to feature.
RKS and ACS are the defending champions of the boys and girls divisions respectively.
More than 2,500 athletes are expected to feature at the Coke Games that will be held from the 22nd to the 24th of this month at the ANZ Stadium.
Meanwhile, the Permanent Secretary for Health, Dr. James Fong says they have received the application from the organizers of the Coca-Cola Games to increase the seating capacity at the ANZ Stadium from 50% to 86%.
Dr.Fong says the application is under consideration however he cannot say when a decision is expected.
The committee made the application on Friday.
The organizers of the Coca-Cola Games have today made an application to increase the seating capacity at the ANZ Stadium from 50 percent to 86 percent.
Coca-Cola’s Marketing Manager Lawrence Tikaram says they are hopeful they will receive some good news.
Tikaram says they also have to follow protocols to have a safe games.
He further says he has been informed that the grandstand tickets have been sold out and this is based on the number of tickets that were printed.
The Coke Games will be held from the 22nd to the 24th of this month at the ANZ Stadium.
This year’s Coca-Cola Games will be dedicated to all the frontline workers who have worked hard to ensure Fiji is COVID contained.
Coca-Cola’s Marketing Manager Lawrence Tikaram says it is with their efforts they are able to host an event of this magnitude.
Tikaram says the Coke Games will become a beacon of hope to those who are battling COVID and look to Fiji and see how well we can return to life under the new normal.
He says the Coke Games is about respect, love, diversity, unity and sharing the success of the athletes.
The Coke Games will be held from the 22nd to the 24th of this month at the ANZ Stadium.
Close to 2,500 athletes are expected to participate in the 2021 Coca-Cola Games later this month.
This consists of 120 schools.
The Powerade National Torch was officially lit this morning by sponsors and students from RKS at the Coca-Cola factory at Laucala Beach.
RKS and ACS are the defending boys and girls champions respectively.
Digicel Fiji has announced that they will be awarding cash prizes to the overall winners and winning schools in each grade in the 2021 Coca Cola Games.
This is after Digicel Fiji gave an $8,000 sponsorship to the Coca Cola Games committee for the cash prizes and the preparation for the games this month.
The overall best male and female athletes will also be walking away with Digicel handsets.
Digicel Fiji CEO Farid Mohammed says this has given them the opportunity to work with the Fiji Secondary Schools Athletics Association and Coca Cola to bring back the Coke Games after a lapse of one year.
Fiji Secondary Schools Athletics Association General Secretary Vuli Waqa says they are very thankful for the donation.
The 2021 Coca Cola Games will be held from the 22nd to the 24th of this month at the ANZ Stadium.
Lomary Secondary School's Makereta Adi is one of the top favourites for the long-distance events in the Coca-Cola Games at the ANZ Stadium.
Adi won three gold medals in the Suva Zone 2 athletics meet.
She won gold medal in the Junior Girls 800 metres, Junior Girls 1,500 metres and 3,000 metres open.
Adi is aiming to win three gold medals in the Coca-Cola Games and challenge ACS and Jasper Williams High School.
Two other Lomary Secondary School athletes to look out for are Maria Ranadi who is the Suva Zone 2 Intermediate Girls 1,500 metres champion and Amele Likuwaqa who won gold in the Senior Girls 1,500 metres.
The Coca-Cola Games will be held from the 22nd to the 24th of this month.
Ratu Kadavulevu School sprinter Nacani Rasoqosoqo is one of the favourites to win the Senior Boys 100 metres in the Coca-Cola Games at the end of this month.
Rasoqosoqo was given the Viti FM Best Male Athlete Award at the Tailevu Zone after winning gold in the Senior Boys 100 metres, 200 metres and 4 x 100 metres.
The last time an RKS athlete won the Blue Ribbon event was in 2019 and that was through Kolinio Radrudru.
Rasoqosoqo is one of 14 senior athletes in the RKS squad this year.
He ran for Ratu Navula College in the 2019 Coca-Cola Games and finished fifth in the Intermediate Boys 100 metres.
That Intermediate Boys 100 metres final at the 2019 Coca-Cola Games also featured Tevita Sokiveta who attended RKS at the time.
Sokiveta is now Suva Grammar School’s Senior Boys 100 metres champion.
RKS won the boy's division in 2019 with 14 gold, 11 silver and 35 bronze while Adi Cakobau School won the girl's division with 17 gold, 12 silver and 10 bronze.
69 RKS athletes have been chosen to defend the title.
The Coca-Cola Games will be held from the 22nd to the 24th of this month.
Pacific sprint king Banuve Tabakaucoro says no one should be counted out in the Senior Boys 100 metres at the Coca-Cola Games this month.
Tabakaucoro has been watching some of the contenders for the Blue Ribbon event.
Some of the favourites for the Senior Boys 100 metres are Natabua High School sprinter Josevata Rasoi, Suva Grammar School sprinter Tevita Sokiveta, Josua Daudravuni of Ratu Sukuna Memorial School, Nacani Rasoqosoqo of RKS, Tevita Mocekinasau of SGS and Pranav Datt of Jai Narayan College.
The Coca-Cola Games will be held from the 22nd to the 24th of this month at the ANZ Stadium.
St Joseph's Secondary School Year 13 student Reama Verekauta is aiming to break the Coca-Cola Games Senior Girls High Jump record after winning gold in the Suva Zone 2 Athletics meet.
Verekauta jumped a height of 1.53 metres.
The Senior Girls High Jump record is held by Shawntell Lockington of Xavier College with a height of 1.68 metres set in 2019.
Verekauta says her aim coming into the zone was to break the record and with the jump she did, she is targeting the Coca-Cola Games record.
Fiji’s triple and long jump champion Eugene Volmer has been helping Verekauta with her preparations.
Reama is former 400 metres runner, Niko Verekauta’s sister.
Meanwhile St Joseph's Secondary School settled for second place in the 2019 Coca-Cola Games with 7 gold, 4 silver and 5 bronze.
The Coca-Cola Games will be held from the 22nd to the 24th of this month at the ANZ Stadium.
Year 12 Xavier College student, John Aryan Raju had a perfect build-up for the Coca-Cola Games after winning gold in the 5,000 metres Open Grade final in the Easter National Championships at the ANZ Stadium.
Raju will be competing in the Intermediate Boys 1,500 metres, 3,000 metres and 4x400 metres relay events in the Coca-Cola Games.
Raju won gold in the Junior Boys 1,500 metres and 3,000 metres events in the 2019 Games.
Another athlete to lookout for will be Year 13 student, Avikesh Raju who will be taking part in the Senior Boys 1,500m and 3,000m events.
He won gold in the Senior Boys 1,500 metres event in the Coca-Cola Ba Zone.
Xavier College will also be banking on Lisa Lockington as she has qualified to compete in the Intermediate Girls High Jump.
Lisa who is the younger sister of former Xavier College athlete, Shawntell Lockington won gold in the Junior Girls High Jump event in the 2019 Coca-Cola Games.
Xavier College Principal, Jalendra Prasad says they will focus on long-distance and field events to get them gold medals.
Prasad says 92 athletes have qualified to take part in the Games however they will be selecting close to 70 athletes to travel to Suva.
Xavier College won six gold medals in the 2019 Coca-Cola Games and finished fifth and fourth in the boys and girls divisions respectively.
The Coca-Cola Games will be held from the 22nd to the 24th of this month at the ANZ Stadium.
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