Telecom Fijiana Diary – Day 3 and 4

Bula tale Viti,

With the same morning program as yesterday (Wednesday), our Thursday rolled off without a hitch starting with a scrimmage with team South Africa.  The weather was manageable during training but we could sense it was going to turn on us very soon as the Sun has been struggling to burst through the clouds all morning.  Happy with the girls’ performance on field, we were ecstatic to see a new “Fijian” face on the side line watching the scrimmage and taking pictures of the girls line out.  MR Sitiveni Naivota from Kavala, Nakasaleka, KADAVU currently resides in Maryland but used to play Rugby for Kennesaw Rugby Club in Atlanta.  When he heard in Vegas that the Telecom Fijiana will be participating in the Atlanta Women’s 7s, he decided to revisit his old City and Rugby Club and at the same time support the Fiji’s Women’s Rugby 7s team at the tournament.

Telecom Fijiana

Coming Atlanta, we really didn’t expect the Fiji Mission in Washington to officially welcome us in their capacity as the representative of our Government nor did we expect any Fijian living in Atlanta to be visiting us at the practice ground, dropping off boxes of fruits at our hotel and invited us (team management) out to dinner.  Mr Naivota proved us wrong, with all the years he’s been living in the US of A, he is still very much a Fijian at heart and his support for the girls is gratifying.

Thursday afternoon saw five of the girls (Esiteri, Brittany, Tima R, Russel and Roela aka Sugar) plus Coach attended the Legacy Program in a chosen Elementary School nearby and whilst they were tasked to introduce Rugby to these youngsters, it was a great opportunity for them to promote Fiji with our Pure Fiji gifts (mini bottle lotion) as our exchange gifts for the Teachers and Helpers.

Whilst our Telecom Fijiana Captain, Ana Maria Roqica took the stage for the first time with the other team Captains of 11 countries for a team photo in the afternoon, the rest of the girls accompanied by Manidia, Physio Jen and sister nurse Carol took the free shuttle to Cumberland Mall and Ross to strike some bargains.  What a proud moment for Ana Maria being chosen the “Telecom Fijiana Skipper” for this tournament.  She may be small in size (158cm in height and 52kg in weight) for this sport they call Rugby but she makes up with her gutsy heart and never die attitude.  For a girl who grew up in the hills of Nabukavesi, Serua and played rugby with the village boys for fun, she has indeed come a long way, displaying her leadership skills in this tournament and travelling the world playing a sport she loves. Ana Maria has been to eight World Rugby sanctioned tournaments since Dubai 7s 2013 and she’s bound for more.

Friday 13^th March 2015

Just like that …..Boom!!  The weather turned on us this Friday morning (dropped in temperature with rain and chilly wind) so the Captain’s Run was more about finding ways of beating the Cold than the actual Captain’s drill.  Few girls experienced numbed palms hence were catching the ball with both their arms wrapped around the ball, but standing on the sideline, all rugged up, I couldn’t help thinking how the day’s cold weather was a blessing in disguise as I would rather the girls had a taste of the cold now than to be hit with a surprise tomorrow (Saturday) being the first day of the tournament.  We finished the session well but we were all dying for a hot shower, hot drink, hot food and even power nap for some.

With no other Fijians around in Atlanta, Mr Naivota (our lone local supporter) was asked by Coach to be our Chief Guest at the Jersey Presentation tonight.  Not only he accepted our humble request, he brought with him three guests that are Atlanta residents and have been instrumental in his life as a young rugby player in Atlanta many moons ago.  We were honored to have Mr Naivota’s “yaca”, Mr Stephen Yeager (a Doctor by Profession) as our Guest Speaker and he also presented the Jerseys to the girls. As always, our Jersey Presentation is a humbling experience, I guess it’s because we are far away from home and apart from our Liaison Officer, it would be just us Team Management and the Players at the ceremony.  So having guests who are local residents attending our jersey presentation not only makes the ceremony a lot more meaningful to us but also lifts the girls’ spirit in a very special way.

As always, our Jersey Presentation is a humbling experience, I guess it’s because we are far away from home and apart from our Liaison Officer, it would be just us Team Management and the Players at the ceremony.  So having guests who are local residents attending our jersey presentation not only makes the ceremony a lot more meaningful to us but also lifts the girls’ spirit in a very special way.Tomorrow (Saturday 14^th March), we embark upon another journey that will bring us closer to our dream of making it to the Road to Rio for Olympics 2016.

Despite all our struggles in our preparation for each journey (leg), the lack of faith and support from all those that matters, the negative comments from our very own countrymen, I would like to encourage all you beautiful women of FIJIANA (current, past and future) to :-

Stand Tall and Proud – “Be confident in who you are.  There is beauty in each and every one of us and we must proudly show that to the world.  Because a tree is rooted firmly in the ground it can reach out with its branches to get light, feel the rain, or let a bird land on a branch.  Once we, too are grounded and able to stand firmly in who we are, we can reach out to accept the gifts this world has to offer.  It is often easier to focus on the negativity in life, but think about all that has gone right and all that you have accomplished!

Be Proud and Lift your Heart to the Sky!!”
Dou Kalougata tiko ni mataka ra goneyalewa!!!

Selita Koroi, Telecom Fijiana Manager