The rain poured and the slopes were slippery, but nothing could deter the CQU Fiji International Campus women’s basketball team from climbing jungle-draped Mt Korobaba to raise funds for their participation in the recent Tertiary Games held in Suva.

Armed with sturdy boots and the odd cane knife to cut through lush growth, the team and their busload of supporters made the ascent with the purchase of new uniforms for the competition their main objective.

The women’s basketball team was just one of CQU FIC’s sporting teams to compete in Fiji’s 2005 Tertiary Games, conducted over 10 days from September 23 to October 2.

The event - held annually since the 1980s - featured 15 sports, with thousands of elite sporting students from the region competing alongside a large number of International students.

CQU Fiji International students entered nine teams in all, participating in sports ranging from rugby to table tennis.

The women’s basketball team put their recently acquired mountaineering skills aside for the Games, playing on to become overall Runners-Up in 3 strenuous but spirited rounds. So will next year’s Basketball Fundraiser include a trek up the mountains in blustery conditions? The team isn’t ruling it out. Which just proves that some people will go to any lengths (or heights) for the sport they love.

Photos: Isapeti Antonio (Bachelor of Accounting) with Sefo Waisel (Bachelor of Business Administration) bringing up the rear.... and a tour guide from Mt Korobaba.