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Hawai'i Hosts a Royal Lacrosse Enthusiast - the King of Tonga
In June of 2000, Mark Tarone, the organizer of the 1999 Hawai'i Invitational got a strange but wonderful request. It seemed that His Majesty, the King of Tonga, an island nation in the south pacific, was interested in the sport and wanted Tarone's help. Emeline U Tuita, a representative of his Majesty, wrote Tarone an e-mail that got it all started. She told Tarone that the King was interested in setting up a national team for the Kingdom of Tonga, joining the international organization, obtaining technical assistance for set up and training of a team and procurement of supplies.
The King was scheduled to be in California from July 10 - 21st and in Hawaii July 21st - 24th and wanted to learn more about the game on his trip. Tarone was only too happy to help. "It was a terrific surprise to hear from them. Lacrosse holds a big place in my heart, and I was very happy to hear that His Majesty, the King of Tonga, is interested in bringing lacrosse to Tonga." Tarone is currently working on expanding lacrosse in Hawai'i by starting a high school league on Oahu next Spring. Tarone has provided as much helpful information as he could, while putting the Tongan consulate in touch with many others who will provide additional help. Steve Stenersen, the executive director of U.S. Lacrosse and Tom Hayes, the president of the International Lacrosse Federation were among those enlisted ny Tarone to assist in the Tongan lacrosse effort.
Tarone with His Majesty, the King of Tonga
Tarone also recommended sending a few coaches to high school lacrosse camps on the mainland U.S. "Future Tongan coaches could easily learn all of the fundamentals of the sport by visiting camps for three or four weeks. The first coach of my life learned to coach like this, just the year before he started coaching me, and he was very effective at teaching me and my teammates the fundamentals of the game." Tarone says.
the King of Tonga receives lacrosse gifts
So when the king was in Hawai'i, Tarone set up a scrimmage between local squads for a very special audience. Gifts from many of the lacrosse manufacturers were given to his majesty and the entire event was a huge success.
"I would also like to talk with His Majesty about setting up a small competition in Tonga in Spring 2001 or Summer 2001." Tarone says, "I'm sure that I could bring our club to Tonga and should also be able to get some teams from the west coast of the U.S. to join us in some games there. We may also be able to convince some teams from Japan to join us there. I think that such games would be a tremendous help in generating interest in lacrosse in Tonga. It is very exciting to think that in the not so distant future, people from Hawai'i and Tonga should be able to share experiences through the common bond of lacrosse!"
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