Tongan athletes leave today for Apia South Pacific Games

Tongan athletes leave today for Apia South Pacific Games
Email this article Printer friendly page
21 Aug 2007, 18:15

Nuku'alofa, Tonga:

MOST of the Tongan athletes preparing to compete in the 13th South Pacific Games in Apia, Samoa, will leave Tonga today August 21. Robyn Kaho, the Chief de mission of the Tongan team, said there are nearly 200 athletes representing Tonga in this year's South Pacific Games to be held from August 25-September 8, 2007. Over 30 of these athletes are from overseas, mainly from New Zealand. There are two overseas golfers, from Fiji and Australia, and in Judo one from the USA.Tonga will be represented in 19 sports including archery, athletics, volleyball, beach volleyball, cricket, football, judo, surfing, taekwando, weight lifting, golf, power-lifting, tennis, table tennis, hockey, rugby league, outrigger canoeing, lawn bowls, and bodybuilding. Robyn said that the team members leaving today are competing in the sports during the first week, which includes football, cricket, beach volleyball, table tennis and tennis. The rest of the team including the athletics team will travel to Apia before August 28 because their competition is not until the second week. Robyn is confident that the Tongan athletes will do well in their various sports and they are looking at medal winners from archery, athletics, beach volleyball, surfing, judo, taekwando, outrigger canoe, football and they have high expectations for the heavy-weight lifters in the women's category. The Tongan Government is paying the airfares of 140 athletes for the trip to Apia and back amounting to $120,000 pa'anga and the rest of the athletes pay their own way as some are coming from New Zealand. But each individual sports team will pay for their own accommodation at the games, said Robyn. The management includes General Manager 'Ahongalu Fusimalohi, the Team Doctor Dr Sunia Foliaki and Physio Sione Po'uliva'ati, with surfing champion Michael Burling as Tonga's flag bearer. The South Pacific Games is held every four years and athletes from 22 Pacific nations will compete in over 30 different sports in Apia.

FONTE: Matangi Tonga - Nuku'alofa,Tonga

http://www.matangitonga.to/