Venue: Albert Park Pavilion, Suva
Fiji Hockey Federation Executive Members;
Representatives of the Australian Country Hockey Team, New Zealand President’s XI, Fiji President’s XI, Japan National Under 21 Men’s and Under 18 Women’s Hockey Team;
Invited Guests;
Ladies and Gentlemen.
It is a pleasure to be here this evening to officiate at the Fiji Hockey Federation 2017 Oceania Challenge Cup Traditional Welcome Ceremony.
To all our visitors who are here for the first time, Bula Vinaka and welcome to Fiji. I hope your weeklong tournament will not only enable you to enjoy the game of hockey and meeting new friends, but also enable you to enjoy the Fijian hospitality.
Ladies and Gentlemen
Hockey is one of the oldest team sports played in Fiji, with the first organised hockey held in Suva in 1916 with 6 teams participating in regular competition. Last year, Fiji Hockey Federation celebrated it’s 100 years Anniversary and hockey is now played mainly in urban areas with district Associations conducting games for men or women in Lautoka, Nadi, Suva, Ba, Levuka, Savusavu and Labasa.
It was up until the 1980’s, that the main influence on the development of Fiji Hockey, was through its close educational ties with New Zealand. And these were the tours by Fiji sides to New Zealand.
Ladies and Gentlemen
Hockey was played on grass for at least 86 years until the turf was built for South Pacific Games in 2003. However, it has developed tremendously since then, with Fiji entering as many international tournaments as possible. The last tournament for men was the World Series Round 2 in Bangladesh, this was held in March of this year. And even though they did not qualify for round 3, their world ranking had improved.
For the women’s category, the last tournament was the International Cup in Sydney in October of this year, which they duly won.
Ladies and Gentlemen
With the development of hockey in Fiji over the years to where we are now, our determination to host the Fiji Invitation Hockey Series, is an added bonus. The Series allows members of our national squad and emerging players to compete against a representative Australian Country Hockey Team, New Zealand President’s XI and for the first time, the Japan National Under 21 Men’s Hockey Team and the Japan U18 Women’s Hockey Team.
I am happy to mention that the 4th women’s team in the tournament is made of our very own Under 18 squad, who are preparing for the 2018 Youth Olympic Games Oceania Qualifying tournament, which will be held in Buenos Aires in October.
Ladies and Gentlemen
Today, you stand surrounded by old and new friends. You may probably defeat some of them in your upcoming matches and you may lose against others. That is what makes you friends. That is how sport works. Your weakest competitor is your best friend because he or she will make you stronger. Thanks to the competition you will grow.
Whether or not you will win a medal, you are all winners. In the long run, your active and continued participation in sports and athletics would pay you rich dividends in terms of fitness, well-being, and happiness.
Ladies and Gentlemen
Sports, particularly team sports engender purposeful and meaningful social relationships. Man is a social animal, we have a need to socially connect with others. These social interactions with your friends and workmates provide you highly desirable security, belongingness, and ultimately happiness. Therefore, winning or losing in sports or athletic is not at all important, but the happiness originating from participating is a highly cherished trophy.
You will compete, you will laugh, you will cry, you will suffer and you will cheer. You will live together and you will grow together. You will have challenges and you will be sad because you are sportspeople who want to achieve more. You do not settle for the ordinary, but all want to shine together as a team.
Those who will not script victory on this occasion, should not be disappointed but analyze your performance and set out on a further mission. You need to remember that the winner is not twice as much better than a runner up.
Ladies and Gentlemen
There are many fringe benefits of being an athlete. It gives you the confidence, strength and enhances physical productivity. Sports teaches us how to work in harmony with other people, exert whenever necessary, accept defeat with equal ease and work as a consolidated unit. Sports in Fiji, is one of the greatest sources of unity and inspiration for our people.
At this juncture, I would like to thank the organisers for organizing such an event. Organising such tournaments are not easy, as it requires a lot of patience and demands a lot of attention.
You have proven that hockey is inclusive and a sport for all and one of the highest profiled and played sports in the world. And while it may be a minor sport in Fiji, it could very well become a leading sport due its inclusiveness and its adaptability to be played anywhere and with anything.
Ladies and Gentlemen
With those words, it gives me great pleasure to declare the 2017 Oceania Challenge Cup open and I wish all participating teams the very best.
Vinaka Vakalevu. Thank You.