ACE Advocates At Melanesian Cup

FASANOC’s Athletes and Communities Engagement (ACE) community outreach programme in partnership with Oceania National Olympic Committees (ONOC) continued its outreach activities during the 2022 FIBA Melanesian Cup held in Suva, Fiji last week.

ACE Champion, Quintyn Stephen, said that the purpose of the program was to empower athletes to be leaders of change, not only in sports, but in their communities.

"We want to show athletes that they have multiple roles on and off the court and we can be examples to inspire others," Quintyn said.

“The program has changed my life and has given me an opportunity to grow and become more than an athlete."

ACE Champions from various sports were Joana Lesi (Cricket), Anegha Narayan (Taekwondo), Marica Togayali (Volleyball), Praneel Singh (Billiards), Inoke Nuibalavu (Baseball), Naomi Waqanidrola and Kinisimere Ravai (Football) and Quintyn (Shooting) shared  messages with participants of the Melanesian Cup and also to junior basketball enthusiasts present during the FIBA Melanesian Cup.

"We were also happy to share our advocacy programme with participants from Fiji Table Tennis who were using  the Vodafone Arena to train," Quintyn said.

Some key messages delivered at the four-day tournament were on Playing True, Staying Healthy, Going Green and Being a Leader.

The main objective at this year's FIBA Melanesia Cup was to engage athletes of the participating nations and use them to spread awareness and recruit potential Voice Of Athletes Champions when they return to their home countries.

"We are hopeful that some of the basketball reps will take the time to be a part of the ACE programme and help give back to the community that has supported them as athletes," Quintyn said.

ACE champions also used the opportunity to advocate to over 160 participants which included the 8 participating teams of the FIBA Melanesian Cup and Taekwondo, Table Tennis and Shooting(is this the correct sport??) athletes that also used the Vodafone Arena for training.

The ACE Programme is the flagship programme that serves FASANOC’s vision to "Inspire the People of Fiji through sporting excellence" through its purpose which is to encourage, engage and empower athlete leaders and communities in Fiji in the advocacy of Olympic Values, True Spirit of Sport and Social Messages.

The ACE Programme is supported by IOC Olympic Solidarity and ONOC.

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