What was it like preparing the biggest island of 480+ athletes for the games?
The 2020 Cook Islands Games gave us time to analyze and set objective for team Mangaia for this year’s Cook Islands Games. We sat together with a few of our wise people to discuss how we will manage the team as we have predicted that our number will increase. Frequent meetings were held to discuss our plan and ensure that informations were going out to our members.
We formulated a few steps that we know we can follow through and ensure that the plan is effectively implemented.For us to be able to implement our plan effectively we allocated each codes with managers who are involved in coordinating our athletes training sessions and supporting the executive with fundraising events.
Team Mangaia worked collaboratively this year to ensure we accomplish our objectives and maintained our support for each other.As a matter of fact, working with team Mangaia this year was a blessing and the preparation was easy as we had all the support we needed from our Mangaia community and friends.
How was Mangaia feeling before the games, did you have feeling you were going to dominate this year?
Leading up to the games, the whole team united together mainly to prepare our mentality so that our athletes can learn to manage their own performance and create their own optimal level of mental readiness.
The team were confident and ready for the tournament ahead of them, aiming to do their very best to represent and win medals for the island of Mangaia in all categories. The team was confident they will win medals from various codes and their positive feeling kept the team together to dominate this year’s Cook Islands Games.
Did you yourselves compete during the games?
We were both playing bowling in this Cook Islands Game, winning 2 gold medals and a bronze medal.
The tournament went for over 2 and half weeks, yet
we were managing the team at the same time, but we maintained our trust in the managers we have selected to manage our teams while competing for a medal in the bowling tournament.
How did you find managing such a big team during the games?
Managing team Mangaia in this Cook Islands Game was so much easier than the last Cook Islands Games. We evaluated the 2020 Cook Islands Games and have planned ahead of time on how we can manage our team this year. Enjoyed every moment of it, meeting new members and balancing our time between our work and community commitments.
There were lots of late night and early morning time spent to prepare the team and to ensure we are meeting our deadlines and well prepared for the games. It was team work and good communication amongst the team that made things easier for us to manage team Mangaia.
Were there any standout athletes for Mangaia this year?
We take our hat off to all our athletes that played in each individual and team events and have performed to their fullest potential to win medals for the islands. Especially our Youth, Masters and Open division who sacrificed to play up to 2 or 3 games per day.
How did it feel winning a trophy in all 3 categories?
The people of Mangaia were so overwhelmed to win all 3 trophies and it was a blessing for the island.
How did you feel when you found out you tied with Mitiaro in the master’s category?
We were so happy to share the master’s trophy with our Mitiaro family, a well-deserved achievement for both islands.
What are some highlights for you during the games?
Athletes who willingly took the playing field/court in codes they have not trained and played before.
The skills of sport seen in our athletes and their enthusiasm to win their games.
Masters team aiming to win gold medals in their events
The support we had for each other during the games, especially at times when our athletes needed our comfort and support.
The strong connection we built amongst ourselves.
Would you step up to manage Mangaia again for the next games?
It will be a pleasure to lead team Mangaia in the next Cook Islands Games, but time will tell as we have other plans in place for our family.
We would like to extend our greatest gratitude to all our families, friends, the people of Mangaia, code managers, coaches and all athletes for their full support during our preparation and campaign for this Cook Islands Games. It was a pleasure working with each individual member and because of this they have become part of our family and greatest supporters. We couldn’t have done this without their support from the beginning of our race until the end. We also thank our heavenly father for his guidance, strength and for blessing team Mangaia.
God bless Team Mangaia.
‘KIA RURU A RAMA TE ANAU.’
