BY ROMULUS HUTA
KGVI School has been named as the ‘official games village’ for the 2018 Association of the Church of Melanesia Schools and Institutions and Communities (ACOMSIC) Games this month.
The ACOMSIC Games head of the organising committee Desmond Waita announced the location of the games village via social media on the event’s facebook page last week.
The ACOMSIC Games will see all students of the Anglican Church of Melanesia schools and institutions converging in Honiara to take part in a weeklong festival of sports, entertainment and educational awareness from Saturday 23rd June to Saturday 30th June.
Waita said the games village will open on Saturday June 23.
Waita stated the event will open with a church service at the Saint Barnabas Cathedral on Sunday June 24 while the grand official opening ceremony will be held on Monday June 25.
Waita thanked the management of KGVI School for allowing the use of their facilities during the course of the event.
“Thank you KGVI school management for allowing your wonderful venue to be used to host the games.”
Registration for interested schools is still open and will close on Monday June 18.
A total of 17 Anglican Church of Melanesia Schools and Institutions are vying to take part.
Waita urged schools that are yet to pay up their registration fees to come forward and commit to this important requirement.
The theme for this month’s ACOMSIC Games is ‘Oneness through Sports’.
A total of five main sports are expected to be featured. They are soccer, futsal, netball, volleyball, rugby and athletics.
According to Waita, apart from playing sports, other activities will also be organized and they include night activities for students such as educational and health talks, speech contest, choir competition, cultural dancing and a beauty pageant show.
As the calendar pages unfold closer to the opening date, hosts of sponsors have already raised their hands to support through sponsoring of prizes and other items pertaining to the running of the event.
The latest to have come on board last week are the Solomon Islands Ports Authority (SIPA) and the Ministry of Women, Youth, Children and Family Affairs.
Other sponsors are the Ministry of Home Affairs, Coral Sea Resort, Solomon Airlines, Provincial Press, King-George Sixth school and the Anglican Church of Melanesia (ACOM).
“I want to appeal to the general public, business organizations, sporting federations and other sports stakeholders to come and support the students in their sporting activities as sports create a healthy and discipline society.
“It is expected that about one thousand students and teachers are expected to take part in the week long sports event,” Waita said.
The ACOMSIC Games was used to an annual event in the past with the known last edition to be held was in 2006.
After nine years of absence, it saw revival in 2015 and Selwyn College came out on top as the overall winner while second and the third placing went to Saint Stephen Pamua and C E Fox Sa’a, respectively.
Meanwhile, schools vying to participate are said to be in full swing with their preparations for the upcoming event.
