Gloria Hopes Decision To Move Will Help Her Team Win Gold

Gloria Taylor decided to make a bold decision to move to Suva to pursue her dream of representing Fiji in the sport of volleyball at this year's Pacific Games in Honiara, Solomon Islands.

Taylor acknowledges her employers for being understanding of her decision to pursue her passion and represent Fiji.

"I work in the tourism industry and to get time off to train was difficult, but I am grateful that my employers saw the potential that I had to represent the country and to accommodate that they facilitated my move to Suva to be closer to the team," she said.

The 25-year-old from Salialevu, Taveuni shared that because most of the team was based in Suva, her move was going to be inevitable and in order to have a chance of winning a medal, the team needed to gel and train together.

Taylor said, "Our chances of winning a medal only get better if we are together as a team, and this also means making the necessary sacrifices which many of our team members have had to make.”

One of five siblings in her family, Taylor says she is the only one in her family to represent the country in any sport, and she hopes to make her family, her team and her country proud.

"I attended Mahatma Gandhi Memorial School, and my focus was mostly on the academic side, I didn't actually take up sport until after high school. It surprised me, how good I was at it,” she added.

"I first got the chance to represent the country in beach volleyball in 2018, but then I was asked by a former national volleyball rep to try indoor volleyball," she said.

Taylor said she took up indoor volleyball in 2022 and was surprised to be named in the extended squad.

She added that she hopes to repay the faith shown to her by the coaches by helping the team win a gold medal at the Pacific Games.

The indoor volleyball competition will be held at the Friendship Hall in Honiara, Solomon Islands, from 17 November to 25 November 2023.

Team Fiji Volleyball Women’s have yet to win a gold medal at the Pacific Games with their best performance being the 2007 Pacific Games in Apia, Samoa, where they won a silver medal.

The first wave of Team Fiji athletes will depart for the Pacific Games on the 14th of November.

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