Rotuma High School will return to the 2024 Crest Chicken Fiji Secondary School Netball Championship after a decade-long absence. Fiji Secondary School netball president Navitalai Naivalu noted that RHS must first participate in the maritime rally to qualify for the nationals, scheduled for August 21-23 at the National Netball Centre in Suva. He emphasized that there are no automatic qualification spots for the event.
Several schools, including Adi Maopa from Lau, Koro, Gau, and Kadavu, have confirmed their participation in the competition. Lorraine Wesley, the manager of RHS, has stated that the team will compete in the Under-17 division, with a roster of 17 players.
The journey to Viti Levu posed challenges as the community collaborated to raise $7,000 needed for the annual tournament. Wesley explained their fundraising efforts included two kava barrels at the Itumuta community hall.
Wesley expressed hope for the team to play at least two friendly matches against Kalabu Secondary and Gospel High schools before the maritime rally on August 19 at the NNC in Suva. She mentioned, “Our principal has been liaising with the two schools, but we haven’t received any updates yet as we just arrived.”
All players in the U17 team are in Year 11. Wesley described the team as underdogs, emphasizing that the experience will be valuable for the girls. “We have our expectations, but we’ll see how the girls perform in terms of confidence and exposure, as it’s their first time competing against other schools,” she said.
She noted that the rally provides a great opportunity for players to build confidence and assess their competitiveness. “We’ll take it one step at a time, and we never know; perhaps one or two of them will represent Fiji in netball in the future.” Wesley also encouraged RHS alumni to come out in large numbers to support the team.