Solomon Islands' volleyballers with their bronze medals Photo: SINIS
Team Solomons' preparation for the upcoming 2023 Pacific Games in Honiara is on target as sports teams continue to shine at warm-up events.
Honiara is counting down to the opening of the Games on November 19.
Last weekend the country's indoor volleyball teams competed at the Flaming Chalice tournament in Brisbane, Australia, with the men's team returning with a bronze medal.
That was the first medal ever won for Solomon Islands Indoor Volleyball in a competition outside the Solomons.
Men's team coach Thomas Tebaubau said it was a competitive event where his players learned a lot.
"Apart from the whole team with both men and women playing their best, I really thank the boys for making history in the country's indoor volleyball for men by winning the bronze," Tebaubau said.
"It was a good experience, as there are more areas to work on to improve in training and preparation."
The national netball side returned home after a seven-day training programme on the Gold Coast in Australia.
Coach Ruth Tolia said it was an excellent opportunity for the athletes to train and develop their skills.
She said it was not just about the training, but also the centre provided excellent accommodation and food, meaning it was easier for the athletes to just focus their time on developing their skills.
Institute busy
The Solomon Islands National Institute of Sport (SINIS) has been busy over the last six weeks hosting different programmes for the national teams, which included athletics, boxing, body building, touch rugby, weightlifting, judo and netball.
Executive Director Aaron Alsop said SINIS continues to work with various sports organisations in preparing their athetes for the Games.
"It is all busy here and we are working with all the different organisations at our high performance unit to help prepare our athletes," he said.
Last week SINIS hosted the Stage 2 Athletics Camp.
International athletics coaches from Australia, Sharon Hannan, Peter Hannan and Kobe Hinton, ran the training camp from April 24-29.
SINIS Performance Manager for racquet, aquatic, target and Individual sports, Jackie Travertz, said it was an honour and a privilege to have the three experienced Australian coaches in the country to assist the athletes and the coaches.
"We understand they are very busy people but for them to take time off to come to Solomon Islands and assist our coaches and athletes means a lot to us. We truly appreciate their mentoring towards the coaches and athletes and look forward to more camps likes this," Travertz said.
Meanwhile, Aaron Aslop said that in 2023 over 800 Solomon Islands athletes will be training on the Gold Coast in Australia.
This opportunity will help develop their talents and prepare them for Games and beyond, including the upcoming Commonwealth and Olympic Games.