New track in Lautoka
Just two days ago the brand new track out in Churchill in Lautoka. Meanwhile, Nakauvadra has called on the people of Lautoka and nearby towns to come out in huge numbers and witness the official reopening of the newlook Churchill Park. He said the park would be 
opened by the Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama and people of all walks of life had been
urged to be part of this historical occasion.
“We are inviting the people of Lautoka to come out in huge numbers and
witness this historic occasion,” said Nakauvadara. For more click here
Queens Baton Relay
The Relay began with a grand ceremony held to coincide with Commonwealth Day on the forecourt of Buckingham Palace before the Baton, carrying a special message from The Queen, will set off on a 388-day, 230,000 kilo meters journey to the Gold Coast. Anna Meares and Kurt Fearnley with the Queen started the baton relay for the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games to be held 8th – 15th April 2018.
Cheered on by the crowd, Fearnley carried the baton into the palace for the ceremony after the Paralympic wheelchair racer was accompanied up the Mall by the Band of the Scots Guards. This marked the start of the relay. For more information click here
List of Oceania region countries and the dates that the baton will be carried through the country:
To see the full list of destinations and dates click here
New Zealand Track and Field Championships
Upcoming this weekend is the New Zealand National Track and Field Championship at Porritt Stadium in Hamilton. For live results click here
One of the highlights of the weekend will be the appearance of New Zealand’s rio Paralympic team. However Liam Malone, one of the High ranked team members from Rio, and winner of the Disabled Sportsperson of the Year award at the Halberg Awards in February, will not be making an appearance as he is dealing with a leg injury, but the other seven Paralympians will be there, along with 16 other Para athletes.
In addition Rio Olympic Games bronze medallists Eliza McCartney and Tom Walsh will provide excitement to the Sunday afternoon of competition. Both have easily secured qualifying performances for London in August, McCartney clearing 4.82m in the pole vault and Walsh reached out to 21.80m in the shot put at the Auckland Track Challenge last month. Another feature of the weekend will be the Men’s javelin throw with the up and coming Ben Langton-Burnell who threw out over 80 metres for the first time at last month’s Porritt Classic. For more click here
Summer of Aths, Australia
Last weekend at the SUMMERofATHS Grand Prix Toea Wisil broke her own 200m National record for the second time this season with a time of 23.13s in Canberra on Sunday afternoon. She came so close to get the World Championship Qualifying time of 23.10s as she held first for 150m before being surpassed by Australia’s Rio Olympic Semi Finalist Ella Nelson who won the race with a time of 23.00s.
Athlete of the year award goes to PNG
Last weekend Rellie Kaputin was named NCAA D2 Indoor Field Event Athlete of the year by the USA Track and Field and Cross Country Association following her outstanding performances at the National Championships on 10 – 12 March. The 24
-year-old from Tinganalom Village East New Britain lived up to her growing reputation as a big meet performer with another outstanding championship performance in Birmingham, Alabama. Kaputin won the triple jump with yet another PNG National record of 13.09metres, came second in the long jump and placed sixth in a very tightly contested high jump. For more click here
America Samoa
American Samoa Track & Field has set a great example for the athletics community. An example is when the kids athletics day was cancelled they turned it into a go green day. So check out their Facebook page here
