Athletes, officials settle in at Games venue in Port Vila

The first lot of Team PNG athletes and officials are settling well into their accommodation after arriving in Port Vila, Vanuatu, on Thursday for the Pacific Mini Games.
They were met at the airport by cheers, outstretched hands and smiling faces from the members of the Papua New Guinea community in Vanuatu as well as performing local cultural groups and school students.
Team PNG chef de mission Emma Waiwai led the team that consisted of members of the general management team with athletes and officials of table tennis, golf and weightlifting.
The team were given a briefing by the general manager Anzillah Miro and received their Games accreditation passes.
Waiwai said the journey was good and the team were settling in well after the long trip from Port Moresby.
She welcomed the team to Port Vila and encouraged them to rest well and enjoy the experience but to maintain their focus on their goals for the Games.
Meanwhile, weightlifting coach Jeffery Robby expressed his satisfaction of the competition venue at Epauto after a visit to the place.
“It looks good and now we are just waiting for our athletes to arrive for competition,” Robby said.
Their competition is one of the first for the Games that start tomorrow and the team is confident of securing nine gold medals for PNG.
Papua New Guinea’s weightlifting athletes Steven Kari, Toua Udia, Morea Baru, Dika and Thelma Toua and Lorraine Harry will all be arriving in Port Vila today from the Oceania Weightlifting Institute in New Caledonia.
The golf team also visited the Mele Golf Course where they will be competing.
They brought their equipment along for storage and some practice as well.
A few more teams from sports that will be competing in the first week of the Games arrived on Friday and over the weekend.
The opening ceremony of the Games will be held today with competitions beginning tomorrow.
Other sports teams will be joining the group as their competition dates near.