PAPUA NEW GUINEA – Our teams woke up at 5:30 on July 11th (July 10th for the US) for prayer and song with the Honorable Lt. Gov,. Lemanu Mauga, Director Pili Gaoteote and ASNOC (American Samoa National Olympic Committee) Secretary General Billy Young. American Samoa is ran by an Governor and Lt. Governor, so our Lt. would be kind of like the Vice President of the United States. The Samoan culture has deeply religious roots and the morning prayer are part of our start every day.
All athletes receive accreditation. It is a badge we wear around our neck that has our picture, name and what sport we play. This is used to eat and get in the other venues. We do not go off the village housing grounds because it has been known for some of the tribes here to cause problems for foreign athletes. Yet, PNG has set up safety and precautionary measures with National Guards from all over.
We were supposed to play against the hosting country of Papua New Guinea in our first game on the 11th, but that was changed and we ended up playing against Fiji. We won in 4. First set Am. Samoa 30 Fiji 28, 2nd set AS 27-25, 3rd set Fiji 25-20 and 4th set AS 25-17. We were so happy. There is a different kind of feeling from playing on a University floor to playing on an Olympic qualifier floor. Seeing the flag waved, the support from fans, the cheers; playing for a country is amazing!
It was almost four in the morning California time as I finished supporting the Am. Samoa's National Women's Basketball Team as they played in the gold medal round against Fiji. Am. Samoa won the silver medal. Our goal as a team is to step on that platform, our national anthem being sung and our flag being raised. That's the goal of this journey and I am so proud to be a part of it.
My next game was Sunday July 12th (Saturday July 11th over there) at 5 pm PNG time against Tahiti and we WON! The reason this is so exciting is because Tahiti took gold in the 2011 Pacific Games. I just wanted to send our team picture. I am #13 and my younger sister is #3. American Samoa never won a Gold medal in Volleyball. They won a bronze in 1979. So if we win, our team will be the first in history.
If you would like to get information on when Nora and her team will be playing and possibly broadcasted on air, visit the facebook page that is solely dedicated to the American Samoa National Volleyball Team: https://www.facebook.com/NoraLeilia
