National sports federations should avoid being caught out and scrambling for help in the last minute while preparing for regional and international tournaments.

Proper planning would grow the sport and the athletes in the long-run and administrators should lead by example.

The Fiji Volleyball Federation (FVF) painted a bad image of the sport when it failed to keep the Fiji Association of National Olympic Committee regularly updated regarding its participation at the Pacific Games in Papua New Guinea next month.

In the end, the men’s and the women’s volleyball teams were dropped from Team Fiji squad on Wednesday because they could not pay their levy on the due date.

Intense lobbying and canvassing, with Government intervention, resulted in the Chinese Embassy donating $37,000 last Friday.

This is more than the $34,564 that FVF should have contributed to Team Fiji.

On Friday, Team Fiji chef de mission Cathy Wong added the volleyball teams back into the list after consulting and pleading with Andrew Minogue of the Pacific Games Council in Port Moresby.

Everyone involved in sport and especially the players should be disappointed after preparing hard for so long and being sidelined in the last minute.

All national federations went through blood sweat and tears to do the hard work on and off the field to meet their obligations to contribute their 30 per cent of the levy.

The FVF administrators’ slackness to fundraise and plan was the problem. They know that the Pacific Games happen every four years. They knew that they left it too late.

Other national sports federations have done the hard yards to prepare well in advance and some pay $25K more than volleyball.

They did not sit back in the last four years and relaxed. Team leaders backed by the National Federation executives got to work and they worked hard to reach the figure required and even more.

For example, Shop N Save Athletics Fiji had to raise $67K and $7K for Paralympics. They are 98 per cent closer to getting everything in order not to burden their athletes. Last night members of the ‘Athletics Family’ were involved in a fundraising ‘kati’

after the weekly competition at the ANZ Stadium. And they have been doing it collecting $1000 a week for the past few months.

National federations should not expect to be given special treatment in future like volleyball.

The decision to drop volleyball was made in the best interest of Team Fiji. And we hope this is the last time we go through this experience.

It does not look good and doesn’t augur well for the athletes and the sport.

Government, sponsors, stakeholders, Fiji Association of Sports and National Olympic Committee, administrators have all contributed to ensure Team Fiji performs to expectation at the Pacific Games.

Let’s hope Fiji Volleyball has learned its lesson and come Tonga in 2019, it will be ready.

Feedback: oseab@fijisun.com.fj