Rotuma High School is set to return to the 2024 Crest Chicken Fiji Secondary School Netball Championship after a ten-year absence. Fiji Secondary School Netball president Navitalai Naivalu stated that RHS must first participate in the maritime rally to secure a place in the nationals scheduled for August 21-23 at the National Netball Centre in Suva. He emphasized, “There are no automatic qualifiers,” noting that other schools such as Adi Maopa from Lau, Koro, Gau, and Kadavu have confirmed their participation.
RHS manager Lorraine Wesley announced that the school will compete in the Under-17 division, with a squad of 17 players. The journey to Viti Levu was challenging; the community rallied together to raise $7,000 required for participation in the annual netball event. Wesley mentioned, “We had two kava barrels at the Itumuta community hall to fundraise for our funds for the tournament.”
She expressed hope for two friendly matches against Kalabu Secondary and Gospel High schools before the maritime rally on August 19 at the NNC in Suva. “Our principal has been liaising with the two schools; we haven’t received anything yet as we just arrived,” she said.
All of the Under-17 players are in Year 11. Wesley described the team as underdogs, acknowledging they have much to learn and framing the upcoming experience as an opportunity for growth. “We have our expectations, but we’ll see how the girls perform in terms of confidence and exposure, as it’s their first time playing against other schools,” she noted.
She views the rally as a valuable chance for the players to build their confidence and assess their competitive levels. “We’ll take one step at a time. We never know, perhaps one or two of them will represent Fiji in netball in the future,” she added. Wesley is also encouraging RHS alumni to come out in significant numbers to support the team.