SASNOC

Speaking to Loop Samoa, ONOC President Dr Robin Mitchell said they have been in discussions with the Samoa Association of Sports and National Olympic Committee (SASNOC) in the past few days and they feel for the athletes and the administrators.

“We are very sad that the Samoa Weightlifting team will not be participating at the Olympics. They are the top within the region when it comes to the sport.”

“They have trained so hard to for the past few years to get to where they are and such decisions can be difficult,” he said.

SASNOC released a statement this afternoon following the Caretaker Government’s announcement that Team Samoa was withdrawing from participating due to the high number of COVID-19 cases in Japan.

The Caretaker Cabinet decided yesterday (Wednesday) to prevent Team Samoa from travelling to Japan due to COVID-19.

The Caretaker Minister of Communications, Afamasaga Rico Tupa'i, said that with reports Japan has a 500 daily infection rate, the Cabinet decided prevention takes precedence according to RNZ Pacific.

The event marks a milestone in solidifying the partnership between the Pacific Games Office and SASNOC ahead of the Games.

The partnership provides SASNOC financial and in-kind support valued at $1.5 million Tala from the Pacific Games Office. In exchange, the Pacific Games Office has received the rights of association with Team Samoa to sell and market for the Samoa 2019 Pacific Games.

The committee's head Fa'amausili Taiva Ah Young told the Samoa Observer the games will take place on the 5th of December.

Fa'amausili said SASNOC held a meeting with all the heads of sports and decided that it was time to revive the event again because research shows that the country needs to have competitions annually to prepare athletes for future international tournaments.

He said the event will generate interest and athletes enthusiasm to play in Olympic sports.

And this week, SASNOC welcomed two new trainers and developments officers to its programme.

Daisy Ellen Koria and Tuala Mathew Vaea will be taking their posts in Savaii and Upolu for the time being.

"These are part-time positions for the time being and the availability of funds/grants to enable us to carry our one of our most important pillars of our Strategic Plan 2015-2019, which is capacity building," said SASNOC CEO Faamausili Taiva Ah Young.

"These positions will be working closely with our Sports Coordinators also for Savaii and Upolu," he added.