Harnessing valuable resources !
A recent meeting of the KAA Executive decided to give Assistant Secretary Samasoni Nakala the task of gathering the qualified coaches into a more organised body. It is to be hoped that such a relatively structured organisation will enable the skills acquired by its members to be of more benefit to more current and future athletes on the Kiribati islands. As a start, Samasoni has been provided with the current lists of KAA National Records, the oldest two of which date back to 1963, i.e. M1500m. and M10,000m. ! He has also been given the comprehensive list of qualified coaches as kept by Oceania Athletics.
Samasoni has stated that it will be the intention of this body to raise the standards of Athletics in the Kiribati islands and thus facilitate the better preparation of Kiribati representatives ccompeting overseas. Their theme (or 'Mission Statement') is to "REACH the UNREACHED !" A key to this will be the cooperation between this new "Gathering" (which may be called the Kiribati Islands Athletics Coaches' Association or KIACA) and its parent KAA.
Hopefully it will, by having a number of different coaching bases on Tarawa, make it easier for athletes to train without the time and expense of travel. Also, by having a voice, coaches will now be able to guide KAA in the purchase of necessary equipment. With the circulation of copies of the IAAF Coaching "bible", "Run ! Jump ! Throw !", another benefit should be the coaching of similar techniques, no matter who is the coach. A further benefit of having a joint voice should be the improvement in the maintenance and development of facilities, not only on Tarawa but also on the "outer islands". That is why the idea of having a regular module of "Kids' Athletics" given to the P.E. courses at the Kiribati Teachers' College (KTC) annually would be an effective way of spreading skills and interest on every Kiribati island. (The Ministry of Education sends the new teachers to all the 22 islands in the country !!!)
If this project gets off the ground it could revolutionise Athletics in Kiribati. We wish all involved "Tekeraoi ami mwakuri !" (Good luck in your work !)
Image of Samasoni with students at JSS TUC2 on Tarawa in 2016.
Last Modified on 13/02/2018 12:33