FASANOC
FASANOC ACE Programme started their first outreach of the year with the Fiji Outrigger V1 Marathon Regatta and 3x3 Basketball Tournament for both Men and Women preparing for the Pacific Games in November, 2023
The Fiji Association of Sports and National Olympic Committee (FASANOC) Athletes and Communities Engagement (ACE) Programme started their first outreach of the year with the Fiji Outrigger V1 Marathon Regatta and 3x3 Basketball Tournament for both Men and Women preparing for the Pacific Games in November, 2023.
The ACE Champions included Selestino Selevasio (Gymnastics), Joana Lesi (Cricket), Anegha Narayan (Taekwondo), Sekoula Waqanidrola (Football), Laisani Mataele(Football), ,Luisa Tamanitoakula (Football), Quintyn Stephen (Shooting) and MaricaTogayali (Volleyball).They focused mainly on the Anti-Doping and Stay Healthy components of the ACE programme.
ACE Champion Naomi Waqanidrola who coordinated the programs said “while they have a variety of topics that the champions are trained to speak on, they chose the above two topics because they felt these should be a priority for the athletes,.
Naomi said during the outreach at the Fiji Outrigger V1 Marathon Regatta, the champions focused on the“Play True” message, the Anti-Doping component of the ACE programme.“This message informs athletes on the rules and regulations of the World Anti-Doping Agency and Drug Free Sport Fiji, including their rights as athletes when approached for testing.”
“Out of competition and in Games testing is on the rise in the Pacific so it is important to make our athletes aware of the topic.”
Naomi said the second topic was mainly on "Stay Healthy" because of the impact of keeping healthy has on them as athletes and how it can contribute to what they would like to achieve as athletes.
Olympian and ACE Champion Matelita Buadromo who was also a part of the regatta over the weekend said she was aware of the messages and was thankful for the reminder.
"It's always good to be reminded of some of the ACE messages including "Play True" and sharing that message with other athletes who would potentially educate others," she said.
During the 3x3 Basketball Tournament, Naomi said their message changed to adapt to the audience which involved a lot of young athletes.
"So we advocated on "Go Green" which focuses on having a clean environment and no littering," she said.
"It was encouraging to know that a lot of the young athletes knew about this message and we only hope that they will share this with other athletes and include the learnings in their own lives."
The ACE Programme serves FASANOC’s vision to "Inspire the People of Fiji through sporting excellence" by encouraging, engaging and empowering athlete leaders to become advocates for the Olympic Values, True Spirit of Sport and Social Messages.
FASANOC's ACE Programme builds athletes capacities in a pathway designed to help them become empowered and grow leadership qualities outside of the sporting arena.To be eligible for this Programme, the athletes, known as Champions, must have been national representatives of their sport.
Through the VOA programme,FASANOC is committed to supporting the International Olympic Committee's (IOC) message about the positive health, social and economic impacts that sport has on society.
