In the latest development ahead of this year’s Coca‑Cola Games Fiji Finals, organisers have unveiled a tightened security and safety regime that will see the three‑day national secondary schools athletics meet run as a strictly drug‑free and smoke‑free event. Fiji Secondary Schools Athletics Association secretary Biu Colati said the measures are part of a coordinated multi‑agency effort to protect athletes and spectators from what he described as a growing drug threat.
Colati told media the association has formalised the tournament’s drug‑free status and will back it with robust screening and enforcement. “One of the things that I could assure the public and those that follow our game is that our game is now being decided to be a drug‑free and a smoke‑free game,” he said. The association is working with the Fiji Police Force, the Land Transport Authority (LTA), and the ministries of Health, Labour and Education to deliver coverage before, during and after the meet.
Enhanced security will include visible police deployments and the use of canine units to screen people entering the arena, Colati said. Checkpoints will be set up in and around the venue with strict screening protocols; spectators and participants will be asked to declare items they bring into the grounds. “The police will be out there in numbers… they (public) will be facing all these canine units before they enter the arena,” he said, adding that checkpoints will be “almost everywhere”.
Authorities will also monitor teams’ movements beyond the stadium. It will be mandatory for each team travelling from around the country to submit detailed travel plans, including routes, to the athletics association. That information will be shared with the police and the LTA to help coordinate movement, patrols and traffic management during the event. Colati emphasised organisers want oversight of competitors “after the game” as well as during competition: “We want to know where they are sleeping, where they are going.”
The association said non‑government organisations will join the security push by delivering awareness and education programmes on the dangers of drugs. Colati framed the initiative as a broad community responsibility: “It is almost a national duty now… to see that our students, our athletes are not accessible to these kinds of harmful substances.”
Organisers say the stepped‑up measures aim to create a safe environment for the thousands expected to attend the finals, reduce the risk of illicit substances entering the event, and ensure the welfare of young athletes travelling from across Fiji. The announcement marks a clear shift toward preventative security and public‑health messaging in response to concerns about drugs around mass sporting events. Further operational details, including exact checkpoint locations and the timeline for submission of team travel details, were not disclosed and are expected to be released by the association in the coming days.
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