Three Wairarapa athletes are known to have been included in a New Zealand team to compete in the track and field section of the seventh Pacific School Games in Melbourne from November 26 to December 4. Corey Casey from Carterton and Chris Girling McLean and Stevie Paine from Masterton will bepart of an event expected to involve more than 3000 primary and secondary students from across Australia as well as up to 35 teams from other Pacific regions. It is understood Casey, 14, will contest the 800m, 3000m and javelin, Girling McLean, 14, the 200m and high jump and Paine, 10, the 2800m and 1500m. The Pacific School Games are described as a "a celebration of youth and sporting endeavour in an educational setting and for Melbourne they will create an excellent dress rehearsal for the Commonealth Games to be held from March 15 to 26 next year. They will draw on the city's reputation as Australia's sports capital with competition not only including track and field but also swimming, basketball and diving. The competitions in which Casey, Girling-McLean and Paine are involved will be held at Olympic Park , which is one of Vctoria's premier sporting venues.Events there will range from sprints and hurdles to pole vault and there will be classes for both able-boded athletes and those with disabilities. Among those who have used the Pacific School Games as a launching pad for spectacular international careers in track and field have been three of Australia's golden girls, Cathy Freeman, Melinda Gainsford-Taylor and Jana Pitman. For Corey Casey his trip to the Pacific School Games will be his second visit to Australia in a matter of months. He will contest the Australian open cross country-championships there in August as part of a St Pats (Silverstream) College side.
