The Minister for Education Services, Jacinta Allan, recently tested her skills at wheelchair basketball as the countdown to the 2005 Pacific School Games continues.
The Minister for Education Services, Jacinta Allan, recently tested her skills at wheelchair basketball as the countdown to the 2005 Pacific School Games continues.
To be held in Melbourne from November 27 to December 3, the seventh Pacific School Games will be one of the largest school sporting events in the world featuring some of the best young athletes from across Australia and the Pacific Region.
In previous years the Pacific School Games have been graced with such talent as Ian Thorpe, Susie O’Neill, Cathy Freeman, Matt Shirvington, and Jana Pittman.
Sporting ambassadors for the 2005 Games include Olympians Brooke Hanson, Tamsyn Lewis, Andrew Gaze, Michele Timms, Steve Hooker and Dean Pullar, and Paralympians Amanda Drennan, Sam Braham, Don Elgin and Richard Coleman.
Ms Allan said the games were a unique opportunity to provide quality educational and sporting experiences for 3500 Australian and international students.
"The Bracks Government believes school sport is integral to student health and well-being and essential for a well-rounded education," Ms Allan said.
"We’ve allocated more than $3 million to host the 2005 Games as part of the Victorian Physical Activity Strategy, which is designed to encourage Victorians of all ages to become more active."
The Games will feature primary and secondary students from across Australia, and up to 25 overseas countries, ranging from China and Thailand to Fiji and Canada. Competition will be conducted across four sports – basketball, diving, swimming and track & field.
These sports will be held at two world-class sporting facilities that will also be used for the Commonwealth Games in 2006. Track and field will be held at Olympic Park, while diving, swimming and basketball will take centre stage at the Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre.
Basketball will be played for the first time, in line with the sport’s introduction to the Commonwealth Games program.
In another exciting move, young sports competitors with a disability will break new ground by participating fully in all aspects of the Games.
"I’m sure we’ll be seeing great things from all competitors with some stars of the future emerging," Ms Allan said.
Visiting athletes will all be housed in a special student village based at the historic colleges and halls of residence at Melbourne University.
In an off-field extravaganza of music, dance and song, more than 3000 students will demonstrate their performing arts excellence at the opening and closing ceremonies, courtesy of ‘Joining the Chorus’, the Department of Education and Training’s performing arts sector.
Other off-field activities will include visits to Sovereign Hill, Melbourne Zoo and Melbourne Aquarium.
The mascot for the 2005 Pacific School Games is Victoria’s official marine emblem, the Weedy Seadragon, a graceful and beautifully coloured animal native to Victoria.
More Games information is available at: http://www.pacificschoolgames.edu.au