FSSAA Tightens Rules After Zone Meet Controversies

The Fiji Secondary Schools Athletics Association (FSSAA) will implement stricter registration and officiating protocols for the upcoming Fiji Finals, following a series of disputes during the Suva Zone One and Two meets at HFC Bank Stadium this week.

In one race, an official walked across a live lane, obstructing a Yat Sen Secondary School sprinter. Despite the clear disruption, the race was allowed to proceed with-out a restart.

In another case, an athlete was directed to a lane that didn’t match the official start list. As a result, the athlete was marked as a “Did Not Start” (DNS) in his designated lane, disqualifying him from the finals despite completing the race.

FSSAA secretary, Biu Colati, said the organisation would review these incidents raised.

The issues are unfortunate and it is something we will not ignore, Colati told SUNSports yesterday.

We will be meeting with the Games Committee next week it was not a major issue, but it could develop into something bigger. We will not allow that to happen during the Coca-Cola Games.

Colati said FSSAA would tighten registration rules.

We are going to be strict with registration. Those who run the qualifiers must check entries properly, he said.

There were also reports of schools replacing absent athletes with other students. It is alleged that this was encouraged by teachers.

Colati said these issues highlighted the need for improved coordination between zones officials.

He assured schools that athletes still have more opportunities to qualify for the Fiji Finals.

We have five national qualifiers, he said.

Every child has another chance and schools, especially small and rural schools, should make use of these opportunities.

You are only in week eight or nine of training. There are still five weeks left be-fore the Coke Games.

You have time to improve, he said. FSSAA will also implement stricter security measures during the Games.

We will address what happened at the zone meet. We want to run a much better and bigger event this year,” he said.

Meanwhile, Mahatma Gandhi Memorial School (MGM) dominated the Suva Zone One meet; they scooped both the boys and girls title.

The girls won 31 gold, 14 silver and 12 bronze ahead of Ratu Sukuna Memorial School.

RSMS girls took home 6 gold, 2 silvers and 3 bronze while Ballantine Memorial School was third with 4 gold, 5 silver and 8 bronze.

In the boys’ division, MGM led with 21 gold, 7 silvers and 5 bronze.

RSMS was second with 8 gold, 7 silver and 5 bronze medals while Dudley High School finished third scooping 5 gold, 9 silver and 12 bronze medals.