Rotuma High School is set to return to the 2024 Crest Chicken Fiji Secondary School Netball Championship after a decade-long absence. Fiji Secondary School Netball President Navitalai Naivalu explained that RHS must first participate in the maritime rally to secure a place in the national tournament scheduled for August 21-23 at the National Netball Centre in Suva.
“There are no automatic qualifiers,” Naivalu stated, adding that other schools, including Adi Maopa from Lau, along with teams from Koro, Gau, and Kadavu, have confirmed their participation.
RHS manager Lorraine Wesley announced that they will be competing in the Under-17 division, with a squad of 17 players. The journey to Viti Levu posed challenges, as the community rallied together to raise the $7000 needed for the annual schools netball event.
“We held two kava barrels at the Itumuta community hall to fundraise for the tournament,” Wesley mentioned.
She hopes her team will engage in at least two friendly matches against Kalabu Secondary and Gospel High schools before the maritime rally on August 19 at NNC, Suva. “Our principal has been in touch with the two schools, but we’re still waiting for confirmation,” Wesley added.
All Under-17 players are currently in Year 11. “We are heading in as underdogs, and this will be an important learning opportunity for the girls,” she stated. “We have our expectations, but we’ll assess how the girls perform in terms of confidence and exposure, as this will be their first experience playing against other schools.”
Wesley emphasized that the rally serves as a valuable platform for the players to build their confidence and evaluate their competitive levels. “We’ll take it step by step; you never know, one or two might even go on to represent Fiji in netball in the future,” she noted.
Wesley encourages RHS alumni to come out in strong numbers to support the girls during the competition.