The first ever Kids Athletics Program was conducted at the Yap Sporting Complex on Wednesday July 27. The program was organized by 15 local Track & Field coaches who were part of the week long courses in Basic Kids Athletics and officiating.
Organizing the Kids Athletics program was part of the assessment process for the coaches before they could be awarded their certificates of completion in Kids Athletics which is part of the IAAF worldwide program. The course was conducted by Albert Miller who is an IAAF lecturer from Fiji.
Over 30 children from the local communities participated in this historical program. At first the children were a bit apprehensive but once they learnt how to perform the different activities they started to open up and really enjoyed themselves.
Despite the fact that there were no specialized equipment the coaches managed to improvise by using whatever materials that was available locally.
At the end of the program the children were treated to some snacks and were awarded with certificates, medals and T shirts which were donated by the local Youth Department. The awards were presented to the children by Senator Ted Rutun who is also the president of the FSM Track & Field Association.
According to Paul Lane, Director of the Yap Sports Council, his officers were looking forward to conducting Kids Athletics Programs in Schools throughout Yap in the near future. Paul went on to say that all we need now is to have a Kids Athletics Kit donated to our program.
