FIBS NEWS DIRECT: TUESDAY, 20 MAY 2003
KEEN RUNER FUNDRAISING FOR FIOGA:
Sarah Allen (SA) from the Stanley Running Club is training hard for her next challenge. She’s hoping to raise money to help other athletes go to international sporting events in the next couple of years. I asked her what exactly she was going to do to raise the money.
SA: I am taking part in the Edinburgh Marathon on the 15th of June. I am trying to raise money for the Overseas Games Association (FIOGA). This year FIOGA are sending a team to the Island Games in Guernsey at the end of June and I will be taking part in the Half Marathon and the 10,000 Metres in that. The idea of running a marathon was to raise money for future games and also to get me fit for these games - if it doesn’t finish me off.
CG: What kind of training are you doing at the moment?
SA: The training’s been building up over the last three months. I have been training for two years, really, since the last Island Games. Over the last three months, I started to increase the training quite a lot. For this week, for instance, I will do a 20 – mile run, a 10 – mile run and another day is interval training of four lots of 1600 metres plus 200 metre recovery jogs and then, another day, 8 miles and I have already done a run in the swimming pool. It just gives the knees a bit of a rest from the impact on the roads.
CG: Tell me a bit about these future games that you’re raising money for.
SA: The Youth Commonwealth Games are in November 2004. It’s the same as the Commonwealth Games but it’s only for people who are under 18 years old. At the moment, we’ve got a few talented athletes like Roxanne Morrison and Kyle Biggs, who are 16 and this time running at Guernsey at the Island Games. If they continue training, we possibly send one of them. We've got Matthew Pointing, who is training well in the swimming pool. He will be under 18. There may be other people as well. It’s a case of seeing how many places the Falkland Islands are allocated and then see which competitors we have that could do justice to place.
CG: Potentially, there could be around 40 people going to the next Island Games as well. So, how much money do you think has to be raised?
SA: A lot. We have 22 people going to these Island Games. We get the same amount from Government. Each year we get a grant from Government, which goes towards the flights. We have possibly 40 people going to the next Island Games, the football team go as well. That’s a lot of people to raise money for. If we start now, in time we might have enough raised to send the whole squad.
CG: Where are you going to be placing sponsorship forms?
SA: We put one in the Post Office, which is probably the easiest place for people to find. There will also be one or two in the shops around Stanley. Please give generously. It’s not for me because I won’t be taking part in any Island Games after this one. Training is too much like hard work and I’ve got a family. I’m enjoying the challenge but I really want to raise money to help the next lot of people who want to go.
CIVIL/MILITARY LIAISON OFFICER TO LEAVE FALKLANDS:
The Civil/Military Liaison Officer is leaving the Islands soon. Squadron Leader Anthony McCord (AM) has been here for two years. He spent the last 10 months of that in his current role. He says he'’ particularly enjoyed getting out and about.
AM: I really have been lucky. I’ve been allowed to go out with Kathleen, my wife, to go on to the West and on to some fantastically beautiful Islands, around the North Camp and down towards North Arm – all these places we managed to visit. It has been an amazing time and an amazing experience to go out and do this job where someone pays me to actually do something which is so enjoyable.
FALKLAND LANDHOLDINGS:
By 2007, Falkland Land-holdings will have significantly increased Cattle and sheep production. And, performance will be recognised as industry best practice. That’s part of the Corporation’s mission statement, which is being looked at as part of their strategic direction as part of today’s meeting. Furthermore, they are saying in the paper that Land-holdings settlements will offer an enviable quality of life, with their staff being recognised as leaders in environmental management. The Board will be reviewing the paper and making any necessary changes to the statement.
LANDING DAY SERVICE:
The Landing Day Service is being held at Blue Beach Cemetery tomorrow morning. Starting at 1100, it marks the landing of the task force in 1982 and the actions of the war up to the battle of Goose Green and the death of Capt. John Hamilton at Port Howard. The service will be conducted by the Armed Forces Chaplain, Padre Hart, assisted by the Rev. Paul Sweeting.
CAMP VISITS:
The Chief Executive, FIDC General Manager, and Director of Agriculture are going to be carrying out a series of Camp visits in early June. On Monday the 2nd, they will be at Goose Green Social Club from 1500 to 1800. Then, on the Wednesday, they will be visiting Fox Bay and will be going along to the Social Club there between 1900 and 2200. The visits will round up at Hope Cottage on Friday, 06 June, starting at 1100 and finishing at 1500. If you are going to that last meeting, they ask you to let Carol know in advance. They say they are looking forward to meeting as many Camp residents as possible.
TRIAL CLEAR-WAY:
The trial clear-way on Ross Road is being extended by a week. No parking on the road during the day has been in place for nearly a month now to determine how the flow of traffic might improve and also to see whether a parking problem would spring up elsewhere if the measures were put into force permanently. Councillors are now saying they need the trial to carry on for another week until the 20th of May to give them a bit more time to talk about the matter before they make a final decision on whether to keep or scrap the measures.
POST CODE:
The news that the Falklands has been given its own post code has sparked the imagination of many of the UK papers today, with articles appearing in at least 7 publications including the Guardian, Times, Daily Mail and the Daily Telegraph. All recount examples of Falklands mail ending up on the other side of the world, in the Faeroe Islands or Falkirk in Scotland. Articles in the Scotsman and the Yorkshire Post also include quotes from Cllr. Richard Cockwell, who told them that the International Telephone system is next on the list of Telephone Communication improvements, saying that the major issue we have here is that there are places in the world which don’t have links for our 00-500 code, including parts of the United States and South America.
(100X Transcription Service)
