VOLUNTEER LEADS FASANOC
The first i-Taukei and second female to hold the position of Fiji Association of Sports and National Olympic Committee (FASANOC) president Makarita Lenoa has challenged women to contribute positively towards sports.
The Vuya, Vanua Levu native who is also the Karate Fiji president, has been hugely involved towards the development and administration aspect of sports in the country. Lenoa who is also a World Karate Federation (WKF) executive committee member and former Oceania Karate Federation president replaced Joe Rodan Senior who served as president over the past four years.
Following the footsteps of late Sophia Raddock who was the first female president for FASANOC, Lenoa shares her experiences, challenges and achievements.
SUN: What’s your current position? How long have you been in this position? Can you provide a brief overview of what it is you do in your work?
LENOA: I’m a volunteer sports administrator. On the national level, I was recently elected president of the Fiji Association of Sports and National Olympic Committee (FASANOC) and have been on this role for six weeks.
SUN: What would you say most motivates you to do what you do?
LENOA: What most motivates me about sport is that it can be a great tool for non-formal education.
It can facilitate and help strengthen collaboration among key sports stakeholders for the benefit of athletes and the development of sports in the country.
SUN: What were you doing previously on your professional career.
LENOA: I’ve served on the FASANOC board for the last seven and half years and as vice- president, the Sports Education Commission came under my portfolio. What I’ve enjoyed the most is championing the needs of National Federations as chairperson of the Commission seeing the signing of the MOU between FASANOC, Oceania National Olympic Committee (ONOC)/Oceania Sport Education Programme (OSEP) and Kiliati Enterprise for the delivery of OSEP courses to our National Federations Coaches and administrators.
I’ve also enjoyed collaborating with key sports stakeholders under the guidance of the Fiji High Education Commission to develop national qualification standards in coaching, administration/ sports management. I also serve as a member of the ONOC Sport Education Commission. My journey in sport to where I’m now have included roles as a parent, club official, team manager, in the sport of karate, including president of Karate Fiji (2007 – 2015), Oceania Karate (2007 – 2014),currently serve as World Karate Federation executive committee member since 2007.
SUN: Where did you grow up?
LENOA: I grew up in Vanua Levu, received my primary and secondary education in Levuka and tertiary in Suva and through sports I’ve visited many countries including the Canary Islands.
SUN: Did you have any key mentors or people who deeply influenced who you are, what you believe in and what you’re committed to in your work and life?
LENOA: Yes, I have had a lot of people both locally and internationally who have helped me in my journey as a sports administrator, and who have so kindly shared their knowledge and experiences with me including feedback from athletes.
SUN: Did you have any life-changing experiences and challenges that put you on the path that led you to be doing what you’re doing today?
LENOA: Although I played sport earlier in life, it was through supporting my sons’ participation in their sport of choice.
That led me to first got involved in sports administration, and because I came from a teaching background I saw that sport has the potential to nurture social and life skills and values that can be transferred to other areas in one’s life e.g. respect, teamwork, striving for excellence, friendship, and the joy of effort in doing your best, respect for oneself, respecting rules, and respecting your opponents because in truth they are not your enemies but who can be instrumental in bringing out a better version of you.
SUN: As an active woman involved in sports now, how does you see the role of women in sports in Fiji and how important is it to encourage more woman taking up roles in various sporting federations?
LENOA: We all have a role to play in sport and speaking from personal experience, I am currently in sports administration at the national, regional and
International level and I have been greatly supported by men. A very good friend of mine once said to me; ‘Whatever you give out, you will receive, so always act from the heart and not from ego and intellect.’
Look, I cannot make a generalisation here for Fiji women because our circumstances and environment are varied. However, for women who feel they have something to contribute positively to sport, give it a go.
SUN: When you think of the future of the kind of work you’ve talked about here, what gives you a sense of hope?
LENOA: Each of us are responsible for our own choices when given opportunities, we can use that for personal gain or for the greater good. I must acknowledge the parents and families for their valuable role in supporting sports participants from a very young age.
If we nurture values I’ve already mentioned in sports and if we recall the outpour of the hearts of the people of Fiji and our region when the rugby sevens won gold at the Rio Olympics.
We can probably say that we had never seen a celebration so moving because it expressed the hearts of the people young and old, the different ethnicity, social, religious and political background that is the potential and the power that sport has. And let me add with the right resources (human, physical, financial etc.) structures and systems from community through the school system to elite level other sports can also showcase the potentials in their sport.
SUN: What’s next for you in your work? What are you looking forward to?
I’ve just come in through the ‘door’ so to speak. Team Fiji will be participating at the 2019 Pacific Games in Apia, Samoa on July 7 -20 and the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games o there are things to be done and timeframes to adhere to. I would like to strengthen FASANOC’s working relationships with its National Federations and also continue collaborating with key sports stakeholders for greater understanding of our roles in sport. We need to complement one another to ensure that the Ministry of Youth and Sports strategic plan and the Government’s National Development Plan is actioned and becomes a reality for the benefit of the citizens of Fiji.
LENOA: