Vanuatu Daily Post, 30th April 2004
Ever since the early days of the Round Island Relay when senior school teams dominated and Lycee, Malapoa, Epi and Onesua raced so competitively, pushing each other to better and better performances, there has been a fierce pride in winning and then defending the title of Round Island Relay Champion.
Multiple winners and record holder, Iupa Club will be out to defend their title again this year. Iupa's experience, careful planning and approach to training for the event, has set the standard for other teams in recent years and made them arguably the most successful club team in the history of the event.
The last few years have seen the emergence of the Nafe, Air Vanuatu, North Efate and White Rock Teams bidding to upset Iupa's strong-hold and this year we can expect another exciting race for top honours. Interest in the Telecom Vanuatu Round Island Relay is also gaining momentum overseas with several teams already making preparations to come and take part in the tough 10 stage 138Km relay event around Efate Island. Many of them, with experience gained in taking part over the past three years, now ready to push our local teams for top finish positions.
Among the teams from Australia will be two teams from the Jump Start Fitness Group in Sydney. Jump Start will be making their third visit to Vanuatu for the event and as well as their usual team of 'fun runners' they are planning to bring a team of 'serious' runners this year to compete with our own top teams. Another overseas challenge is bound to come from the French Military, FANC Team. Last year the New Caledonia based, FANC 1, making their second visit, came better prepared and were very competitive throughout the race, finally finishing in third place overall.
They are bound to be using the experience of their last two visits to the event to mount a serious effort at taking the overall title this year.
Many teams though will be simply aiming for a top place finish in their Category or just happy in the knowledge that their combined effort and teamwork has got them to the finish line. Categories include Open Male and Open Female racing for an increased prize purse this year of 200,000vt for the winning teams, as well as Schools, Mixed, Masters (Over 40), Corporate and the Military & Services Category.
The first three teams in each category will be presented with Gold, Silver and Bronze Medals. Villages around Efate will once again welcome the runners through and in some cases will be putting on their own children's sports events and Lafette in conjunction with the Relay. Special prizes are on offer from the Vanuatu Tourism Office for the Villages judged to be the most welcoming, best decorated and best organised on the day.
Official Race Start is at 6am sharp with a special split start for walking and fun teams which are likely to take longer that 12 hours.
There will be a programme of entertainment at the Post Office throughout the day and once again a special feature will be the Coca-Cola Kids Mini Marathon scheduled for 12:30 pm Starting and Finishing at the Post Office with the turn point at Sharper Image.
Major sponsors of this VTO driven event are Telecom Vanuatu Limited with generous support from, Air Vanuatu, Pro Medical and the Melanesian Port Vila. Organisers also appreciate the support of the Police, Port Vila Municipality, Red Cross, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Youth and Sport, the Ministry of Health and the various district communities and villages around Efate in the staging of this unique event.
