Coach Ben Ryan and the Vodafone Fijian 7s team will be chief guests at the launch of the 2016 Handy Finance Oceania Volleyball Championship at the Vodafone Arena today.

Championship communications officer Rosa Dalituicama said all the gatetakings  collected today will go towards to the 7s team preparation for the Rio Olympics in Brazil in August.

“With the Oceania Volleyball Championships starting we decided use it as a way to help support our boys going to Rio,” Dalituicama said.

“We advised the Fiji Rugby Union chief executive officer John O’Connor and also the 7s team if they were available and they were.

“This is the volleyball family’s way of supporting them and by doing that we are giving all gatetakings back to the 7s team to help in their preparations for the Olympic Games.

“Everyone in Fiji knows how important the Olympics is and the aim to get gold so we want to help boost the team and let them know that we are behind them all the way.

“The tournament itself is going to be really good and exciting and since we are doing this initiative for our 7s team, what better way to launch that then with their presence.”

Ticket prices at the championship today only will be $2.

Kiribati, Samoa, Solomon Islands, New Caledonia, Tuvalu and Tonga and Fiji will be taking part in the Oceania Volleyball Championship which ends on Saturday.

The 7s team will later be farewelled by the French Embassy at a tea party at 10.30am today.

The team departs for the Paris Sevens on Wednesday. Ryan has named a 17-men squad for the Paris Sevens bolstered by four players who are playing 15s rugby in Europe.

The four players are Leone Nakarawa (Glasgow Warriors) Waisea Nayacalevu (Stade Francais), Josua Tuisova (Toulon) and  Samisoni Viriviri (Montauban).

Semi Kunatani, who has featured at the past two rounds of the series, will also travel to Paris.

Besides the 15s stars, Ryan has also included the same 12 players who took Fiji to their third Cup win of the series in Hong Kong, where they beat New Zealand 21-7.

Fiji are currently top of the World Rugby Sevens Series standings, eight points ahead of South Africa at 147.

Edited by Osea Bola

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