Pacific Sports
Pacific Sports
SPG
Pacific Games Enters New Era
 |
| Taekwondo action between Tahiti (left) and New Caledonia. PHOTO: LAGI KERESOMA |
The closing of the final South Pacific Games in Apia in September heralded a new era for the region’s biggest multi-sport event. When New Caledonia hosts the event four years from now, it will simply be known as the Pacific Games. And that is but one of the changes planned.
The 2011 Pacific Games is likely to be reduced in size. South Pacific Games Chairman and Fiji National Olympic Committee President Vidhya Lakhan wants a reduction in the number of athletes and officials by at least 1,000. The Apia Games saw close to 5,000 athletes and officials pour into the Polynesian nation of nearly 180,000 people.
- ADVERTISEMENT -
There are also growing calls for the number of sports to be reduced from 33 after the New Caledonia team made a mockery of the medal tally by winning 90 gold medals, almost twice as many as the next best teams Tahiti (44) and Samoa (43). The francophone territory had an advantage in being more competitive than the other 21 nations in the minor sporting events and dominating the swimming event, where more medals were dished out than most other sports.
The much talked about eligibility rules were debated before and during the games, and that debate looks set to continue in the coming months with the issue of naturalized athletes and the application of the rules to New Caledonia and Tahiti and other smaller self-governing nations such as Tokelau, Cook Islands and Niue—where athletes hold dual nationalities—still largely unresolved.
Tonga and the Solomon Islands also emerged as the frontrunners to host the 2015 South Pacific Games. Much lobbying was done by both countries with a vote to go before the games council in 2009. Wallis & Futuna, fresh from rare gold medal successes in volleyball and athletics, also put its name in the hat to host the 2013 Mini Games.
While the games were dominated by the French territories, Samoa surprised by finishing third on the medal tally and outgunning traditional Melanesian powerhouses Fiji and the Papua New Guinea. Fiji dominated the team sport events such as the Rugby 7s, Basketball, Netball and Rugby League 9s and touch rugby, but still trailed Samoa as the Samoans showed surprising strides in the individual sports.
The Micronesian effort was led by Nauru (15 gold medals), thanks to its weightlifters yet again, Palau (9) and the Federated States of Micronesia (6), but there were worrying signs for Guam which only managed a solitary gold medal.
Tokelau was the surprise packets of the games winning three gold medals and taking everyone by surprise in the lawn bowls. It was Tokelau’s first medals ever at the Pacific Games and perhaps a sign of things to come.
There’s talk of Samoa being the new sporting hub of the Pacific with an impressive array of facilities—many of them funded by China—set to become important cogs for a planned sporting development institute backed by government. With Samoa hosting the Weightlifting World Cup event in November and a likely bid for the Commonwealth Youth Games in the mill, perhaps the much feared White Elephant syndrome won’t eventuate after all.
RUGBY
World Cup Dilemmas
 |
|
|
The Pacific Island teams made a strong statement to the International Rugby Board on behalf of rugby’s second-tier nations after sending shockwaves throughout the rugby world with their performances at the 2007 Rugby World Cup in France in September and October.
Fiji made its first quarterfinal appearance since 1987 after stunning Wales 38-34 while Tonga turned the form book around with wins over Samoa and U.S., a narrow loss to South Africa and a courageous display against 2003 World Champions England.
Samoa on the other hand put on its worst World Cup performance, managing a solitary victory over the U.S. The fallout saw Coach Michael Jones resign and Samoan rugby searching for answers. Prior to the World Cup, Samoa was seen as the Pacific team most likely to make an impact at the tournament.
But elsewhere in the Pacific there was euphoria, particularly in Tonga where for many years they have played second fiddle to Fiji and Samoa. The past year has seen Tongan rugby at an all time low with a divided Tongan rugby union board stagnating progress in the game locally. But the performance of the Ikale Tahi has galvanized the Tongan community and restored national pride. This was evident at the homecoming of the Tongan team to Auckland airport where the local Tongan community turned out in force decked out in red and white to welcome the players and officials. The reception in Nuku’alofa was even more spectacular.
Fiji declared a national holiday in October in honor of the Ilie Tabua-led Flying Fijians. Their thrilling win over Wales was ranked as one of the best games in Rugby World Cup history.
Pacific rugby now holds its breath as the IRB deliberates over the format for the 2011 World Cup to be hosted by New Zealand. There are calls for the next World Cup to be reduced from 20 to 16 teams. The 2011 qualifiers has already seen the usual format revamped with a single tournament replacing the drawn out home and away format which was formerly used. Tonga and Fiji look to have avoided the qualifying tournament on account of their respective finishes this year. But Samoa may be forced to qualify.
There are also fresh calls for Pacific teams to get more opportunities to play the top teams. The Australia Rugby Union and its Chairman John O’Neill have re-opened the book on expanding the Tri nations and Super 14 series to include Argentina and a Pacific Island team.
