MAGNIFICENT - BUT HOT !
The Secondary school which has led Kiribati Schools' Athletics for the past seven years, St. Louis High School (SLHS), held its own Inter-Team competition on Thursday afternoon and Friday morning. Most unusual for such an event in Kiribati, it ran to time, so that we could fit in visits to the Bank and Post Office AFTER the meeting ! Also, the team results were announced just five minutes after the last 4 x 400 Final !
It was given a voluntary boost by including a team made up of former students, many of whom are international athletes, who took part in some of the events, challenging the current SLHS teams. This resulted in one or two classic moments, e.g. when current student (and international) Tanroo overtook old boy Andrew (not yet international) on the final leg of the Open Boys' 4 x 100 ! (Photo)
We think this relationship will be to the benefit of the current SLHS squad when it is formed to prepare for the 2008 Inter-School (KISSAC) in July. Because they did not field a complete team, for the "X" students there were no points at stake, but their presence became a driving force. We are grateful to them for their time and effort.
We are also very grateful to the athletes and teachers for their great help in making a magnificent spectacle run smoothly. With a clear blue sky (Thank You God !), it was hotter than a typical Kiribati day - but all survived with a minimum of collapses. There was plenty of cold water and the relay teams had the added benefit of some of the spare iced water on their feet before running ! Maybe it helped !
(More comments, photos and results tomorrow.)
Last Modified on 13/04/2008 22:23