The coronavirus [COVID-19] global pandemic forced the Samoa International Cricket Association to make changes to their annual 2020 calendar.

But the global pandemic has not stopped them from going ahead with school tournaments immediately after state of emergency [S.O.E.] orders were relaxed to open the door for the return of contact sports such as cricket.

Samoa International Cricket Association [S.I.C.A.] Development Manager, Perelini Mulitalo, told the Samoa Observer that they’ve already done two competitions and are preparing for another one next month for the Falealili provincial.  

"We have made changes so that we can fit in with the schedule of the Government. I have been doing tournaments at Safata and Lefaga and I'm also going out in July to Falealili for another competition. We are prioritising our school tournaments at the moment but so far with our previous competitions it's been very good," she said.

Student focused cricket programs such as the "Super Kids" and "Healthy Nana" have also been running well, according to the former Samoan test cricket veteran.

"For our Super Kids program we focus on the kids around this area, we teach them how to play, we provide fruits and water for them too. For our Healthy Nanas program, we have the Samoa Christian Church in Solosolo and the Vaigaga Congregational church," she added.

Next month Ms Mulitalo will run a competition at Falealili district for the children, as she said the children in the village showed so much potential and love for the sport.

"Everyone loves the sport. The people in those districts love playing 'kilikiti' Samoa so they  are curious to find out the difference between the Samoan cricket and the English cricket.”

S.I.C.A. is currently working together with the Ministry of Health [M.O.H.], Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries [M.A.F.], National University of Samoa [N.U.S.] and the Samoan Cancer Society. "We work with M.O.H., M.A.F., N.U.S. and Cancer Society, they deliver the message (awareness) but we teach the sports. We also handle our own expenses," Ms Mulitalo said.

The three staff of SICA go out to the community to roll out the programs, which she indicated is the reason behind the current focus on Upolu before they move on to Savai’i.