Badminton Fiji Secretary Abel Caine at the National Sports Organisation Conference in Suva yesterday.

Badminton Fiji Secretary Abel Caine has raised concerns over the proposed Fiji High Performance Support Framework, saying some sports may not yet be ready to benefit from such a system.

Speaking during discussions at the National Sports Organisation Conference in Suva, Caine was the only representative who openly disagreed with the proposal, stressing that he could not support the initiative without first reviewing the full details.

Caine said transparency and understanding were important before endorsing a national high-performance strategy.

“I personally don’t approve anything without reading everything about it. I haven’t read anything, so I can’t approve this without being 100 percent confident in my own analysis.”

The Badminton Fiji official also questioned whether Fiji’s smaller sports were ready to shift their focus toward high-performance systems, saying many were still building participation at the grassroots level.

He believes the priority should be strengthening development pathways before moving into elite performance programs.

“We are years away from high performance. We don’t need it today – we need it maybe in about five years’ time. Right now we are still building the foundation, especially with young athletes.”

Despite his concerns, Caine revealed that Badminton Fiji has already begun its own efforts to improve athlete development.

The federation is currently working with sports science experts to trial different strength and conditioning programs for around 15 elite players, with performance data being monitored through a structured framework.

However, he also pointed to challenges in accessing sporting infrastructure, noting that smaller sports like badminton struggle to use facilities such as the sports hall at Fiji National University.

Caine said improving access to facilities and strengthening grassroots participation should be prioritised before a national high-performance system is fully implemented.

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