Thank you O.N.O.C.

Thank you NEW CALEDONIA June 2012 Thank you I.W.F.

Success breeds success. This is the phrase which I have used on various occasions. I know that in this instance it is the ideal phrase also to use.

In 2002 I decided to build a weightlifting facility in Sigatoka, Fiji. Seeing that I was the General Secretary of the Oceania Weightlifting Federation and the headquarters was at the time in Fiji because I was residing there, I decided to call it the Oceania Weightlifting Institute. Within a few months, the facility became the hub of weightlifting for pacific island athletes. The institute exploded and within two years seven lifters training at the Institute made the Olympics.

In 2005 the Institute was relocated to Samoa. Many new lifters became involved. Amongst these new lifters was Ele Opeloge, Mary Opeloge and many other top lifters now representing Samoa. So the idea of having the institute in the Pacific started to pay dividends. In 2008 there was eight lifters from the Institute lifting at the Olympics. Dika Toua MBE, (Papua New Guinea) Institute lifter since 2002. The concept of having an institute run in the Pacific was to provide pacific island lifters with proper facilities, a high level of training but most important keep them within their own environment. During their stay at the institute the lifters learn what an elite training system is all about, so that when they return to their own islands they can continue to train at a very high level supervised by their own coaches.

The institute was relocated in 2008 to Mont Dore, New Caledonia. It had left a legacy in Samoa, as it had left a legacy in Fiji. Today a record number of ten lifters from the Institute will be going to . The lifters are from FSM, Fiji, Nauru, Kiribati, Papua New Guinea, Palau, Tuvalu, Solomon Islands. Add to this squad of 10 lifters, we have six more coming from the Oceania region – two from Samoa, two from , one from the Cook Islands and one from New Zealand. This alone is a record for the Oceania region.

Let me state today quite clearly that all of this success could not have been achieved without financial support to the athletes. It doesn’t matter how good the facilities were and are. Unless there is financial support for the athletes themselves, it would be impossible to achieve these kind of results. And it is time to say thank you to the organisation Itte Detenamo (Nauru) Institute lifter since 2003. which has been able to make this happen. That is the Oceania National Olympic Committee – ONOC – through IOC Solidarity funds. Since the inception of the institute in April 2002, ONOC has been the backbone of support for these athletes. Never have they refused NOC’s who wanted to send lifters to the Institute. In fact they have encouraged many NOC’s to take this great opportunity for their lifters to train at an elite level. So I am sure that when these institute lifters take centre stage in London, representing many different Pacific Island nations, their respective NOC’s will appreciate the support given by ONOC over the many years. Because simply, without it, they would not be there.

To win in any sport it is always attributed to how hard you train and how much commitment you put in. And although these athletes train extremely hard and are supported greatly from ONOC you still need Manuel Minginfel (Micronesia) Institute lifter since 2002. facilities to train in at this level.

Therefore I must thank the NEW CALEDONIA GOVERNMENT, the CITY OF MONT DORE and the COMITE TERRITORIAL OLYMPIQUE SPORTIF (CTOS) , for providing the pacific region with a state of the art facility for weightlifting and also for their valued support and assistance to the Institute program for the past four years.

To the International Weightlifting Federation, I would like to extend my gratitude for their continued assistance towards the advancement of the Oceania region and in particular the Pacific Island nations.

Paul Coffa Oceania Weightlifting Institute

David Katoatau (Kiribati) Institute lifter since 2005. Steven Kari ( Papua New Guinea) Institute lifter since 2010.

Maria Liku (Fiji) Institute lifter since 2009. Manueli Tulo (Fiji) Institute lifter since 2008.

Stevick Patris (Palau) Institute lifter Lapua Lapua ( Tuvalu) Institute lifter Jenly Wini (Solomon Islands) Institute since 2010. since 2010. lifter since 2011