Digicel is supporting Noelani Day (aged 13) and Finau Ohuafi (aged 16) who are participating in the 2017 Apolima Strait Crossing Swim Event in Samoa this April.
The young swimmers will be competing in a 22.3km Open Water Swim from Upolu Island to Savaii Island in Samoa.
They will be competing against teams from NZ and Samoa, and the event will also have International solo swimmers.
The event is said to be the longest Ocean Swim in the Southern Hemisphere and they are the youngest team ever to compete in such an event.
They are also the first youngest Tongan swimmers to ever swim this distance as a team.
These young swimmers are no ordinary athletes. They train at least six days a week and volunteer twice a week teaching other kids and adults how to swim. In the past year, members of the squad have achieved:
- Been nominated to represent Tonga later this year at the Youth Commonwealth Games in Canada
- Represented Tonga at the Oceania Championships in Fiji for the 5km Open Water Event
- Represented Tonga at the King of the Bays Open Water Event in NZ
- Represent3ed Tonga at the Samoa Swim Series and winning Bronze in the Female Open Age category
- They have attended the Regional Championships in Fiji winning 16 Medals (Gold & Silver)
- Attended the Anthony Mosse Classic in NZ winning 2 Bronze Medals and
- Swam the first inaugural swim from Faua Wharf to Fafa Island (6km)
The Swim Club of which both Noelani and Finau belong to also contribute back to the community by volunteering two days a week in town teaching swimming lessons to children, and have also started a village outreach project in conjunction with Talitha Project in Holonga Village, that has steadily grown to include 50 children from Holonga, Alaki, and Malapo villages.