Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sa’ilele Malielegaoi said all crews should obey the rules. Tuilaepa also suggested that bad behaviour from the crews could result in the captain being banned from any future race.
The government has announced changes to the annual Independence Day fautasi race.
It follows the controversial end to last week’s 52nd Independence Day regatta where two crews nearly came to blows.
Only three of the six crews that took part were awarded prizes during the prize giving.
The rest did not receive anything.
Instead, their fate was to be decided during a special meeting held last Friday at the Prime Minister’s Office.
Yesterday, the Office of the Press Secretariat issued a statement outlining three changes to the race next year.
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One of them is that a village can now only enter one crew for the race.
Another change will see the Fautasi committee control and dictate the lanes for all crews.
In the statement, it also warned that “any crew that breaches the guidelines; their captain and crewmembers will be dealt with and the village name will be affected.”
The Committee’s hope is to “keep the sacredness of the traditional race.”
“The race should be done in the spirit of peace and a positive manner,” the release states.
The statement did not give details about what decision was made against the crews that did not receive prizes.
These included Segavao from Don Bosco, La o le Aoa from Sinamoga and Ulua’i La o le Talalelei from Salelologa.
Contacted for a comment yesterday, Captain of Le Tolotolo o Tama Uli, Pauli Ivan Williams, said he was not aware of the new guidelines.
Last week, Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sa’ilele Malielegaoi said all crews should obey the rules.
Tuilaepa also suggested that bad behaviour from the crews could result in the captain being banned from any future race.
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