Rotuma High School is set to participate in the 2024 Crest Chicken Fiji Secondary School Netball Championship after a decade away from the event. Navitalai Naivalu, president of Fiji Secondary School netball, announced that traditional maritime competitions must be completed before securing a place in the nationals, scheduled for August 21-23 at the National Netball Centre in Suva. He emphasized that there are no direct entry spots available.
Schools such as Adi Maopa from Lau, as well as teams from Koro, Gau, and Kadavu, have confirmed their involvement in the upcoming championship. Lorraine Wesley, the manager of RHS, revealed that their team will compete in the Under-17 division, which comprises 17 players.
Reaching Viti Levu posed a significant challenge for the RHS community, which organized fundraising efforts to cover the $7,000 required to participate in the annual netball event. Wesley mentioned that fundraising involved two kava barrels set up at the Itumuta community hall.
Wesley is optimistic about arranging friendly matches against Kalabu Secondary and Gospel High schools prior to the Maritime rally on August 19 in Suva. “Our principal has been in contact with the two schools for arrangements, but we are still waiting for confirmation as we just arrived yesterday,” she stated.
All participating Under-17 players are in Year 11. “We are approaching this as underdogs with much to learn, and it will be a valuable experience for the girls,” Wesley explained. “While we have our expectations, we will observe how the girls perform in terms of confidence and exposure, as this will be their first time competing against other schools.”
Wesley noted that the rally serves as an excellent opportunity for players to enhance their confidence and assess their competitiveness. “We will take things step by step, as we may discover that one or two of them could represent Fiji in netball in the future.”
Wesley also encouraged former students of RHS to come out in large numbers to support the girls during the tournament.