Biggest group to represent school

Sixteen athletes will represent Basden College in this year’s Coca-Cola games.

The Newtown based Anglican school are sending their biggest number of athletes since their establishment in 2008.

Team coach Vaseva Daveta said this was a proud moment for the school.

“We have 16 athletes who have made it to the Cokes this year and this is the biggest number we have had.

Previously we been having only five qualifying so that’s a big improvement in improvement for us,” she said.

Daveta said because of the standard time and distance required by the Coke games committee, the school had lost one of their best athletes in the discus and shot put events.

“If someone from the west has a better time than the one from zone one, the better time will be picked therefore we had lost one who was our best in the field events,” she said.

Challenges

Unlike other schools, they will be sending most of their athletes who will be participating at the Coke Games for the first time.

“We have two athletes who have been participating at the Cokes with us, we have one who was former Natabua student.

“She was the best athlete from there and another one represented Basden College in the long jump event last year,” Daveta said.

“The rest are first timers, most of them are nervous looking at other big schools but I keep telling them not to look at their size but look at yourself and prove to them that you’re going to be the best,” she said.

Boost

The athletes received a kind donation of new track shoes from the New Zealand Anglican Church.

“There was a donation from the Anglican church from New Zealand for our athletes which we are grateful for. Recently we had four senior students who traveled to New Zealand last week to attend a leadership seminar organised by the Anglican Church.

“Our students shared how Cyclone Winston affected us and how we don’t have much equipment to support our school so they provided our track shoes and canvas,” she said.

Preparation

Daveta said: “For the past weeks we have been training in school and just this week we had been training at the ANZ Stadium every day and we find it a bit hard because most schools are crowded up here and all schools get a small area to train.”

She said the athletes were preparing themselves although the disturbances from the adverse weather condition experienced earlier this year.

Daveta said they were hoping to secure their first gold medal in this year’s Coke games.

Edited by Filipe Naigulevu

Feedback: stella.moresio@fijisun.com.fj