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| The three Rarotonga-based Cook Islands athletes (centre left-right) are: Patricia Taea, Patrick Tuara and Luisa Peters. |
No matter where you are in the world there are always heaps of interesting stories to tell.
It’s almost intrinsic to every single country on Earth – where there are people, there are some fascinating insights, anecdotes or little moments of magic that deserve to be told and appreciated worldwide.
It’s the reason for a new segment of the blog I’m starting on Wednesday (local time) called the Wednesday Feature.
I have already met some fascinating people in my four weeks here and I’ve decided to share their stories with you, the people in the world of the web, to become just as fascinated with them as me.
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It has been an unusually busy Sunday here in the office. While approximately 90 percent of workers have Sunday off to go to church, a smattering of people are here in the office to complete Monday’s paper.
Proofreaders, printers, the stand-in editor and myself are in the office at present in a usual rush to get Monday’s edition ready to go.
This is no ordinary week for myself, though.
The editor, John Woods and chief reporter/sports editor Matariki Wilson are in Tahiti and have been since Thursday attending the Te Aito, a massive vaka race encompassing different types of canoes.
Take waka ama, make it a national sport and get other countries from the Pacific together, and you have Te Aito o Tahiti.
Their covering of Te Aito is a pretty exciting prospect for myself. Not because there is more room in the office to put my equipment or anything of that nature.
It means I have been given the duty of covering the sports section of the paper, and after three days of working in this new area it is beginning to dawn just how much work goes into our sports section.
While there has been a bit of feedback in times past about the coverage of sports – we even had a letter to the editor about it – the amount of work done by a single reporter to cover all sports action is pretty phenomenal.
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| The village chief, known as a kau-maiti, gives his blessings to chef de mission George George Williamson and the rest of Team CI. |
It's a challenge and it’s one that I am so far enjoying. The feeling of getting a whole section of a page to fill is pretty cool but not one I think I could do for years and years to come. To those who do it, here’s to you guys!
That in itself has been a useful exercise to see if I ever would want to venture into the area of sports editing. It’s something I was curious about at times but those thoughts of curiosity have been shut more firmly than the Parramatta Eels’ boardroom door.
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The Olympics are something most athletes dream about. Billions of people watching either in real life or in real time give the respective sports and countries a great profile. Speaking of which, here are a few things about some of the athletes representing the Cook Islands.
Young sprinter Patrick Tuara isn't going to be one who challenges Usain Bolt for the 100m title. His personal best is 12 seconds, one he hopes to overhaul in London. The most striking thing about Patrick is his commitment to the sport. At 17, Tuara still goes to high school and juggles competition and other sport around it.
Patricia Taea is very much the same. The 17-year-old still attends school - Tereora College, like Tuara - and did so until leaving for London on Monday morning (CIT). They're two of what really is a young team and like Tuara, Taea will compete in the 100m sprint.
Luisa Peters is a gem. A netballer at heart, Peters was encouraged to get into weightlifting by her grandmother, Rosie Blake (who is also the secretary general of the national Olympic body, CISNOC). Sacrificing hopes of a career in the New Zealand Police Force, the 19-year-old is instead off to London to compete in the women's clean and jerk competition.
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As for other matters, I think I’ve finally gotten used to mokos (geckos) scurrying around the house, but a warning: if you’re not used to them or you don’t like them, you’re not going to have much sleep.
Making a heap of friends here at the moment in a whole range of areas. From the printing room to the NZ High Commission, the people here have been fantastic and the ease of friendships here is something that really stands out to me.
Getting more and more amped about cricket season, which is starting up sooner than I thought. Get the new light blue/dark blue uniform soon. Thanks to captain Glenn ‘Hori’ Miller for hooking it up brother!
Aight, that’s probably enough for now but if you ever want to know about anything here in the Islands, please don’t be afraid to ask. But for now, I’m off to go and meet some friends down at Trader Jacks.
Meitaki maata and kia manuia,
Matiu Workman
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| A traditional warrior stands next to a taunga (village priest), who invites George George Williamson (chef de mission, Team CI) into the sacred marae. |
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