The Solomon Islands Rugby Union Federation (SIRUF) in collaboration with Soltuna Company Limited will on Saturday 6th August host a pikinini rugby festival to coincide with the opening of the Olympic Games in Rio, Brazil.
The games in Rio will officially open on Friday 5th August, however, the proposed Soltuna Pikinini pre-Olympics Rugby Festival will be held on Saturday 6th as a way of celebrating the re-entrée of rugby union into the Olympic Games, and the event will also be used to promote the spirit and values of the Olympic movement and of rugby union.
Nine schools including: Selwyn College, White River, Amoana, Bishop Epalle, St. John, Mbokona, Koloale, St. Nicholas, Mbua Valley, King George VI and St. Joseph Tenaru had been invited to send representative teams that must be from any of the following category: lower primary (grades 1 to 3) boys or girls or both; upper primary (grades 4 to 6) boys or girls or both, or; lower secondary ( forms 1 to 3) to this event, which will be staged at Town Ground Rugby Stadium.
Children will participate in Get into Rugby (GIR) promotional and fun competitions, as well as rugby sevens exhibition matches for lower secondary schools boys and tag rugby exhibition matches for senior women’s teams from Honiara women’s rugby clubs on that day.
Each school is expected to select 30 students only who falls under any of the categories described earlier, either boys or girls team or both who will represent their school in the proposed event.
Children who will be selected by their school, their parents and staff who will lead those students during the event are reminded to get their teams ready for this once in four years event and plan their time to make sure that they be part of the Soltuna Pikinini Pre-Olympics Rugby Festival on the first Saturday of August.
Women’s clubs and players, both old and new, and interest new players in Honiara are asked to come along to Town Ground Rugby Stadium on Saturday 30th July at 4:00pm for a thorough briefing on the program.
SIRUF wishes to acknowledge the continued generous support of Soltuna, who had in previous years sponsored pikinini rugby competitions and programs organized by SIRUF, and last year (2015) sponsored the Honiara Pikinini Rugby Festival that was held in Honiara to mark the opening of the 2015 Rugby World Cup in England.
Soltuna had also co-sponsored with other sponsorship partners of SIRUF, some of the major events that SIRUF had organized and hosted in the country. They (Soltuna) had also been a constant supporter of Solomon Islands national rugby teams for international outings in recent times.
For more details responsible teachers or team leaders can contact Augustine (SIRUF GIR coordinator) on mobile 8731843, or via the SIRUF office landline 20150.
