BY JOHN HOUANIHAU
THE Solomon Islands National Institute of Sports has been working tirelessly to ensure the nation’s athletes are well equipped ahead of this year’s PG2023, set to kick off on November 19 in Honiara.
The XVII Pacific Games 2023 begin from November 19 to December 2 in Honiara.
Speaking to local journalists at a recent press conference in Honiara, Solomon Islands National Institute of Sports (SINIS) High-Performance Team Sports Performance Manager (PM) for Portfolio Two (Team Sports) Ms. Amanda Korinihona, SINIS PM for Portfolio One (Combat and Weight Sports) Mr. Zanetana Djokovic, and SINIS PM for Portfolio Three (Racquet, Aquatic, Target, and Individual Sports) Jackie Travetz said they are anticipating more national and regional trial championships from September to October to select the country’s team for the upcoming XVII Pacific Games 2023 in Honiara.
SINIS PM for Portfolio One Mr. Zanetana Djokovic confirmed that most team sports will have national trial championships to select their final teams for the Pacific Games this year.
He said they were confident in the service provided to athletes’ preparations for the Pacific Games this year.
“Team sports, we’re working every day, Monday to Sunday, according to our schedules. We are working very closely with athletes and coaches, and the necessary support from each other is evident.
“We’re ready to wrap up our ongoing programs. We’re very confident in our high-performance obligations here, and we hope other organizations, such as the Solomon Islands National Olympic Council (NOCSI), together with various sports federations, are doing their part.
“We’re getting better every day, and we’re constantly improving, and we’re looking at ways to do better before the Games.
“We’ve got a lot of confidence. We’re on schedule with all of our training. We’ve done everything right so far. The only thing I see, especially for weight sports, that plays a significant factor is in terms of their nutrition.
“This is what we’re focusing on now—where you have to put your time. But we’re still on track, aside from that performance,” Mr. Zanetana said.
He believed they would make some good progress over the last 69 days and keep working very hard towards their objectives.
Mr. Zanetana added that they have seen a lot of improvement since day one of the training for the respective 24 sporting teams; however, it is also significant to build from there.
“The boxing team recently came back from Australia with Golden Gloves, and they produced some good results, so we are so happy with that.
“Weightlifting will travel soon. They are constantly traveling overseas, and they are doing really well for international exposure. That will be good for all the sports as they go full swing with their training sessions. So they are very focused,’’ Zanetana said.
Likewise, PM for Portfolio Two, Ms. Amanda Korinihona, said that for most of the sports, the focus is now on mental skills, nutrition, in-house competitions (Green vs. Blue), camping, touring, and the national and regional championships that are coming up.
“Our main focus now is Green vs. Blue (in-house competitions), which is happening every week. We wanted the athletes to get familiar with the competitive environment and have more competition.
“We also identified that more technical sessions are needed, and with that, we were able to bring over mentor coaches, which is really helpful for local coaches. All teams are having an intense in-camp schedule while here at SINIS,’’ Miss Korinihona noted.
SINIS PM for Portfolio Three Jackie Travetz said that only 15% of them will be really polished before the XVII Pacific Games 2023 (PG2023).
Jackie explained that these include sessions such as the ability of athletes to think on their feet and a certain amount of improvement.
“I’m confident enough to say that we have seen a lot of improvement in the progression of the athletes from last year (2022) leading up to now, and with ten weeks remaining in the commitment the athletes have shown, we are confident enough to say that they are ready to compete at the PG2023.
“So we’re confident that the PG2023 will produce positive results,’’ she said.
Jackie added that there have been a few workshops held for local coaches, athletes from the touring mentor coaches, and a few sports, which is a great boost for everyone that participates.
“From August to September, Team Sailing and Archery managed to complete their in-house training camps at the SINIS Complex. So far, we have done a review based on their recent training camps to see areas for improvement, which we completed last week.
“Looking forward, we have a couple of training camps and local competitions that are lined up. Currently, we have tennis in Samoa for the nation’s cup. We use this local competition and training camps to see areas for improvement and get everyone together to start having the mindset of competition.
The respective managers later thanked and acknowledged everyone at SINIS, including athletes, teams, coaches, and staff, for working together to prepare the athletes for the upcoming Pacific Games 2023 in ten weeks’ time.
