THE local Solomon Islands community in Gatton, Australia will be rallying their support behind the Solomon Islands National Paralympic team when the 2020 Queensland Athletics Track & Field Championships will kick off on Thursday.
The locals living in Gatton confirmed this to the team’s assistant coach Kevin Olea.
“Local Solomon Islanders living in Gatton have confirmed to us that they will be coming out in numbers to support our athletes during the championships,” he said.
“I think it’s good for them to come and cheer our boys and girls since most of our athletes are new players,” he said.
“Receiving moral support will help our athletes during the championships,” Olea said.
Apart from the group from Gatton, other Australian with Solomon Islands blood connections are also keen to visit the team as well.
“Apart from what we received from our local community in Gatton, we also met some of our wantoks as well.
“They were really happy to see us and wished us all the best as well as we are a few days away from the championships,” he said.
“So all along we are really happy because our people living in Australia are also supporting us which also makes us feel at home,” he added.
Meanwhile, the Solomon Island Paralympic team has been making use of their opportunity while in Queensland by training in standard facilities leading up to the championships set to kick off today.
By CROFTON UTUKANA
In Queensland, Australia
