By Roselyn B. Monroyo
Variety News Staff

THE Oceania Athletics Association has released the schedule of events for the 2007 South Pacific Games in Apia Samoa.
The athletics competition in the quadrennial meet will run from Sept. 3 to 8 and will be held at the Apia Park National Stadium.
Set for the morning session on Day 1 are the preliminaries of the men’s long jump, 800m and 100m races and decathlon (100m and long jump) and the women’s 100m and 400m runs.
In the afternoon, two more decathlon events are set with the men’s high jump and 400m run and 10,000m run. Also scheduled for Day 1 are the women’s finals in the pole vault, triple jump and 5000m run.
Day 2 will see a continuation of the decathlon (110 hurdles and discus), qualifying heats for the men’s 400m and women’s 800m runs, decathlon (pole vault, javelin and 1500), women’s hammer finals, women’s 100m run semis, men’s 100m semis, men’s long jump finals, women’s 400m finals, women’s 10,000m finals, women’s high jump finals, men’s 800m finals, women’s 100m finals and men’s 100m finals.
Day 3 will feature the men’s hammer finals, heptathlon (100m hurdles, high jump, shot put and 200m run); men’s 200m heats, women’s 400m heats, men’s 400m hurdles heats, men’s pole vault finals, women’s 100m hurdles heats, men’s 110 hurdles heats, women’s long jump finals, women’s 200m heats, men’s javelin finals, women’s 800m finals and men’s 400m finals.
Set for Day 4 are a continuation of the heptathlon event (long jump, javelin and 800m run), women’s 100m hurdles finals, men’s discus finals, women’s shot put finals, men’s 110m hurdles finals, women’s 1500m finals, men’s 1500m finals, women’s 200m finals and men’s 200m finals.
The morning session on Day 5 will include long distance races with the men and women’s 20-mile race set to start at 7 a.m.
In the afternoon, the events are the men and women’s 4x100m relay heats, women’s discus finals, men’s triple jump finals, men and women’s 400m hurdles finals, men and women’s 3,000m steeple chase and men and women’s 4x400m relay heats.
Participants will have more long distance races on the final day with the men and women’s half marathon, which will start at 6 a.m.
The final session of the day will feature the men’s high jump finals, men’s shot put finals, men and women’s 4x100m relay finals, women’s javelin finals, men’s 5000m finals, men and women’s 400x400m finals.
The NMI is sending tracksters to Samoa, but the Northern Marianas Athletics has yet to announce its representatives to the meet.
The final number of athletes and officials going to Samoa will not be known until July 31.
On the Samoa SPG website, the entries must be confirmed by May 27. The deadline for the posting of entries by names is set for June 11. Questions on the eligibility of athletes must be raised before July 6. On July 31, the final entries by names will be posted on the Samoa SPG website.