By Craig Macdonnell.

Faculty Administrator.

CQU Fiji International Campus.

Suva came alive in July this year. Thousands of athletes, officials and supporters from islands large and small in the South Pacific descended on Fiji for the 12th South Pacific Games (SPG).

The stadiums and sports halls, many of which were constructed for the games, rang with the sound of supporters urging their home country to victory.

Taunts from Tonga, songs from Samoa and various war cries and dances from 22 island cultures came close at times to stealing the limelight.

On numerous occasions during the games the particular chant that threatened to lift the roof was a heart-felt “Go for gold, Fiji”.

It would seem that one very committed CQU FIC student took that message to heart.

Karyn Whiteside, a 19-year-old Bachelor of Business student, was not content to simply come away from the SPG with memories – she ended the competition with no less than four gold medals in Badminton.

Her 11 years of training and dedication paid off as she took out the Ladies Singles, combined with cousin Alissa Dean for victory in an all Fiji final of the Ladies Doubles, joined with team mate Burty Molia to steal the Mixed Doubles and pulled together with her crew to romp home in the Team Event.

Karyn was not alone in having to juggle studies with the rigorous training and competition schedule that accompanied the honour of representing Fiji in the SPG.

Fellow CQU students Benjamin Blake (triathlon), Adrian Bossley (basketball), Elizabeth Bernard (taekwondo) and Paulini Ragani (women’s soccer) also competed against the best in the Pacific.

In addition to the successful few, a number of other students earned places in training squads, but were unlucky in missing out on selection in the final teams – in some cases as late as a week before the commencement of the games.

As the buzz of the games slowly fades, and Suva returns to its normal daily routine, the students put behind them the moments of glory and erstwhile adulation of the crowd to channel the same determination that took them to the top into their studies. While reflecting on the excitement that gripped the Pacific for two weeks, it appears that there was another catch phrase that Karyn took to heart – if in a slightly different way from its original intention: CQU – Where students come first.