The President of the Oceania Athletics Coaches Association (OACA), Terry West is calling on the national government to consider building a proper running tracks for athletics in the country.
West highlighted this during an interview with Star Sports on Tuesday.
He is currently assisting the athletics squad in preparation for major athletic events that are lined up for this year.
“There should be a proper running track for athletics here.
“The current Government should be prioritizing athletics in the Solomon Islands because the country has so many potential athletes that can compete internationally but the issue here is the lack of suitable training facilities,” he told the Star Sports.
“I have been to other small Island nations and their athletics facilities are very premium and of high-quality,” he said.
Sharing the same sentiments was the Vice President of Athletics Solomon Islands, Casper Pule.
“Everybody wants a good training facility.
“Solomon Islands is a country with high population and a big land mass unlike the other small Pacific Island Countries.
“So it is better for us to have some kind of a quality running track or facility that can benefit our athletes.
“It is time now for the government to throw in more support for athletics in the Solomon Islands. Even though we are training in the current tracks, over the past years we continue to produce quality results for the country by winning medals,” Pule said.
Pule said the last government has done some assessments in helping athletics here and he hopes the current government will continue from where the past government had left.
By RONALD TOITO’ONA
