Ignite Sport Fiji

Ignite Sport Fiji Mission 20 April 1 May 2005



The Coca Cola Games ran from the 29th April - 30th April 2005 at the National Stadium, Suva, Fiji. This is Fiji's only annual secondary schools athletics competition and is one of the biggest secondary schools competition in the South Pacific, attracting over 3000 participants from 120 secondary schools across Fiji.

YFC Fiji approached Ignite Sport in 2004 with the idea to use the Coca Cola Games as a way of connecting with the youth of Fiji. Sereki Korocowiri, the Director of YFC Fiji, sees sport as the best vehicle to connect with young Fijians and a way to teach them about Gods potential for their lives. Sereki informed me that in Fiji around the time of the Coca Cola Games the focus is on Athletics and everything else grinds to a halt as the young athletes take centre stage.

Ignite Sport New Zealand sent a team of five athletes and coaches to Fiji from the 20th April to the 1 May to coach and speak in schools in the lead-up to the Coca Cola Games. Below are some of our stories and experiences while in beautiful Fiji.


The team was welcomed at Nadi airport by our YFC Fiji hosts Sereki, YFC Fiji Team Leader, Rosi, Ignite Sport Fiji Co-ordinator and Samu, YFC volunteer, to be informed that all the schools in Nadi were closed due to flooding! Fortunately we were not visiting any schools that day and so traveled to our base at the Sabato Christian Camp in the foothills of Sleeping Giant Mountains to do some team building while the rain continued to pour around us. The following day the rain and flooding had cleared and we visited 2 rural schools southwest of Nadi towards the Coral Coast. The first school visited, and the highlight of our time in the West, was Lomawai Secondary School where we coached 30+ students in sprints, relays, middle distance and throws and had the opportunity to share our stories and testimonies and give every athlete a bible. We were treated to morning tea and lunch by the schools catering students and invited to visit again the following day! We took up this invitation and returned to watch the athletes race and to speak with the athletes, coaches and the school principal about how to prepare physically, mentally and spiritually for a competition like the Coca Cola games. During our time in the school Sereki was able to meet with the Principal and senior management and they are very keen to have YFC run other programs in the school. This was a huge encouragement as YFC plans to grow and establish connections in the West.



We visited 3 schools in total in the West before traveling to Suva for the rest of our stay. While in Suva we stayed in the home of Sereki and Asanati Korocowiri and in the YFC offices across the road.

During our time in Suva we visited 2 schools from the Tailevu area and 4 schools in and around Suva itself. The team was very well received in the schools and it was fantastic to be able to share with the young people how they can reach their god-given potential. A teacher at one of the schools visited shared with us that the school was a Christian school and the students did religious education yet he had not thought to relate God with the athletics teams preparation and he thanked us and assured us that he and the girls would go away and work on what we had shared with them.

The final 2 days were spent at the Coca Cola Games watching sensational competition and cheering for and catching up with the young people we had worked with. One of the highlights of the Games was visiting the warm-up area where all the schools had tents for their athletes to gather in and rest during the competition. The final school we visited to speak at was a girls boarding school that were the Overall Champion Girls school from the previous year. When we visited this school at their tent at the Games they were sending out their 4x400m relay team by praying and singing as their team went through to the call-room. Their coach invited us into the tent and showed us the girls resting on mattresses on the floor and reading the bibles we had given them the previous day. Many more bibles were spread over the floor for girls to read between their events.



Another highlight of the Games was seeing our friends from Lomawai Secondary school taking on the big guns from Suva. With no preparation on the synthetic track the athletes reached many finals, including their relay teams, and picked up 3 medals overall!

We were blown away by many things during our time in Fiji and we will take these with us as we return to New Zealand life -the beautiful smiles of the young people we met and worked with, the amazing raw athletic talent held by the young people, the singing the students blessed us with that brought tears to our eyes, the electric atmosphere of 15 000+ people supporting their school-aged athletes at the Coke Games, the overwhelming humility and hospitality of the Fijian people we met who welcomed us into their hearts, schools and homes especially the YFC Fiji team who welcomed us as family!



We were so excited to see God at work in so many areas of our trip. Firstly to see God enabling us to bless the young people, coaches, teachers and schools we met with knowledge on athletics and help to encourage them to relate their sport with God. Secondly seeing God open doors for YFC Fiji in the schools we visited. Thirdly seeing the amazing work God did in our own lives as team members and the blessings and lessons we will take home with us.

We are very grateful for all the support we received from our friends, families and communities in New Zealand. The prayer support and the individual contributions donated made it possible to spend the time in Fiji and work with the young athletes. Through your support we were able to give away 250 bibles into the hands of athletes from 9 schools.

Thank you for joining with us in this exciting mission.



Ignite Sport Indoor Cricket



If you are interested in playing Indoor Cricket, come and join an Ignite Sport team. All players (competitive and social) are welcome.
Contact: Coordinator Kevin Goldsbury
Ph 9202204 (w)
kevin@ignitesport.org.nz

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Ignite Ambassadors


Leadership programme for senior high school athletes. Last year the Ignite Ambassadors travelled to Christchurch to help out with the first Ignite Academy established in the South Island.