Team Fiji is organising for the first time a cleanup campaign for athletes as they prepare for the 2018 Commonwealth Games which will be held at the Gold Coast on April 4-15.
Media Liaison officer Sitiveni Tawakevou said they would be doing a cleanup campaign from Lami town to Pacific Harbour.
“This is the first time for Team Fiji to organise the cleanup campaign of this magnitude from Lami to Navua and then to Pacific Harbour, we crossing three boundaries,” Tawakevou said.
“This will serve as final fundraiser for the Commonwealth Games the cleanup campaign will culminate at Uprising Beach Resort where we will have lunch and do rubbish analysis.”
“It’s not only the campaign to raise funds but advocate to communities about waste management,” he said.
Team Fiji is expected to take 144 athletes, officials and support staff and will be made up of 45 male and 53 female athletes and 25 male and 10 female officials participating in the 12 sports which includes athletics, badminton, beach volleyball, boxing, lawn bowls, netball, rugby, shooting, squash, swimming, table tennis and weightlifting.
Beach Volleyball will be making its debut at the 2018 Commonwealth Games after both the men’s team of Elliot Qilo and Inia Korowaqa and women’s team of Iliseva Ratudina and Laite Nima qualified during the 2017 Oceania Qualifying Tournament in Vanuatu.
Weightlifting will also be sending its largest contingent after eight lifters qualified during the 2017 Pacific Mini Games in Vanuatu.
Weightlifter and Commonwealth Junior Champion Eileen Cikamatana and Olympian Apolonia Vaivai are both ranked number one in the Commonwealth in their respective weight categories.
The team is expected to leave on March 3 and to return on April 16.
Edited by Grace Narayan
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