The new head of the 2017 Pacific Mini Games says planning and organisation will start to gain momentum in the coming months.
Clint Flood, visited Port Vila in May after being asked by the Pacific Games Council to help with the organisation of the 2017 Mini Games.
The former Executive Operations Manager for the 2015 Pacific Games in Papua New Guinea was then appointed CEO in July after Joe Carlo was forced to step down because of health matters.
Carlo, who led the successful bid team that won hosting rights for the Games in Port Vila, died earlier this month.
"The board and Joe had made some decisions about me moving into that role and Joe being in a support role. The news of Joe passing was a shock to everybody. He left an incredible legacy - not just obviously for these Games but sport and media in Vanuatu and throughout the Pacific. It's big shoes to fill but I know he's kind of looking over us and making sure that we deliver a great Games we can all be proud of," he said.
CEO of the 2017 Pacific Mini Games, Clint Flood. Photo: Supplied
The starting date for the Mini Games was pushed back to December 2017 following delays caused by Cyclone Pam.
Clint Flood said while they would like to be further ahead in their preparations, officials remain confident everything will be ready to go in 15 months time.
"There's a lot of activity taking place - venues are under construction courtesy of the Chinese Government and some other aid groups, we're starting our marketing campaign, we're starting to recruit staff, we're going to get the sports involved so there's a lot of things that Joe put in place that we're able to move forward," he said.
"The construction has now started at (the main Games site at) Korman. There's a lot of construction to do but the Chinese Government, through their contractor, will pick up speed I think. We hope for good weather and not too much rain and certainly not again a repeat of the disaster last year with Cyclone Pam.
"We have now started to engage some staff. We have a launch on October 14 of our sponsor programme - we're out in the marketplace now talking to sponsors.
"We've got a Government agreement in terms of funding, which was the most critical thing to put in place. We're now working out the mechanisms of obtaining the cashflow and providing the documentation around that."
Port Vila will host the 2017 Mini Games. Photo: 123RF
