THE Solomon Islands Tennis Federation (SITF) recently named its final squad to represent the country at the 2022 Pacific Mini Games in Northern Mariana.
With continuous support from the Solomon Islands National Institute of Sport (SINIS) High-Performance the young side are into their Week 5 of training.
Out of the 8 squad members 4 males and 4 females.
Only 7 are home-based athletes trained under head coach Doreen Ningalo and a Fiji based athlete will be joining for preparations soon.
Ningalo highlighted that their preparations for the Mini Games begin in 2020 – and despite challenges, SINIS has stepped in to assist with their daily schedule.
“We have been given the chance to discover a lot under the high-performance program. And it helps a lot with the performance level of the athletes.
☑️ 𝐂𝐎𝐌𝐏𝐄𝐓𝐈𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐒
Since 2020 the athletes have competed in mini competitions organized by the federation.
“Our previous tournaments were hosted quarterly in one year, and not until this year we cannot organize any competition due to the COVID-19.
☑️𝐒𝐈𝐍𝐈𝐒 𝐇𝐈𝐆𝐇-𝐏𝐄𝐑𝐅𝐎𝐑𝐌𝐀𝐍𝐂𝐄 𝐒𝐔𝐏𝐏𝐎𝐑𝐓
“The athletes enjoyed all the sessions here at the center, with the standard facilities. The main thing the athletes needed when coming to the center is the Gym – to build their strength when performing.
“I’m so happy, the athletes improved a lot. Huge improvements have been noticed since accessing the High-Performance training.
☑️𝐀𝐓𝐇𝐋𝐄𝐓𝐄’𝐒 𝐕𝐈𝐄𝐖
Chloe Collinson a selected female athlete is confident that the High-Performance programs and services will boost their performance.
“It’s new for most of us but such services help a lot. Now we can differentiate between the strength we gain from our own sessions and what we gain from doing at SINIS.
“I feel excited and look forward to the upcoming Mini Games and I believe we will produce good results,” the aspiring talent said.
“I’m so thankful for SINIS in providing the facility for our athletes to prepare well.
☑️𝐅𝐈𝐉𝐈 𝐁𝐀𝐒𝐄𝐃 𝐀𝐓𝐇𝐋𝐄𝐓𝐄
Head coach Ningalo also confirmed the overseas-based medal prospect Junior Benjamin will be teaming up with the rest of the squad members.
He has recorded 4 consecutive titles, and he is currently looking forward to making his 5th title in the upcoming Fiji Open next week (18th -22nd).
“He will return to join our team for the Mini Games after the competition. His travelling arrangement depends on the flight that we will book for his return to Honiara,” Ningalo confirmed.
The squad has 2 gym sessions and 3 training sessions per week. And every Saturdays for athletes’ recovery also at SINIS.
~𝑺𝑰𝑵𝑰𝑺 𝑴𝒆𝒅𝒊a
Note: final confirmation of athletes and coaches are approved by the National Selection and Justification Committee and endorsed by the NOCSI Management.
