Pacific Games

Pacific Games

Abbreviation	PAG
First event	1963
Occur every	4 years
Last event	2023
Next event	2027
Headquarters	Suva, Fiji
President	Vidhya Lakhan
Website	Official website

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The Pacific Games (French: Jeux du Pacifique), is a continental multi-sport event held every four years among athletes from Oceania. The inaugural Games took place in 1963 in Suva, Fiji, and most recently in 2023 in Honiara, Solomon Islands. The Games were called the South Pacific Games from 1963 to 2007. The Pacific Games Council (PGC) organises the Games and oversees the host city's preparations. Athletes with a disability are included as full members of their national teams. In each sporting event, gold medals are awarded for first place, silver medals are awarded for second place, and bronze medals are awarded for third place.

Ten different cities in seven countries and territories have hosted the Pacific Games. Four countries have hosted the games three times: Fiji (1963, 1979, 2003), New Caledonia (1966, 1987, 2011), Papua New Guinea (1969, 1991, 2015) and Samoa (1983, 2007, 2019). French Polynesia, who hosted in 1971 and 1995, will become the fifth country to host the Games for the third time in 2027. The United States territory of Guam have hosted the Games twice in 1975 and 1999. The Solomon Islands hosted the event for the first time in 2023.

Only six countries have attended every edition of the Pacific Games: Fiji, French Polynesia (Tahiti), New Caledonia, Papua New Guinea, Tonga, and Vanuatu. New Caledonia have dominated fourteen out of the seventeen Pacific Games, Papua New Guinea with two, and Fiji with one.

The idea of holding the South Pacific Games originated with Dr A.H. Sahu Khan who was one of Fiji's representatives at a meeting of the South Pacific Commission held at Rabaul during 1959. The idea was adopted and led to a meeting of nine Territories, held in Nouméa during March 1961, which awarded Fiji the honour of hosting the very first Games.^[1]

During 1962, the South Pacific Commission founded the South Pacific Games Council, with the first ever Games being held at Suva, Fiji. In the 40 years since, Games have been held in 12 countries and territories within the region. Initially the Games were held at three-year intervals although this was subsequently expanded to four following the Tumon Games in Guam.

As a residual consequence of the European colonisation of the Pacific from the early part of the 18th Century onwards, many nations who participated in the first Games (of 1963) were under predominantly British or French territorial rule. Understandably this generated a certain amount of confusion as both British and French flags and national anthems dominated proceedings and were occasionally used together for winning countries.
Western Samoa (now Samoa) was the only country with a flag and anthem of its sovereignty as it was the only participating independent island nation at that time. As time went on, fledgling nations gradually achieving sovereignty of their own sought to extricate themselves from their colonial past and new national anthems and flags emerged. Nevertheless, English and French remain the official languages of the Games.^[2]

Like other sporting events, the South Pacific Games has experienced slight controversies. A minor dispute that still continues today is the scheduling of events landing on a Sunday. Throughout the Pacific, the Christian Sabbath remains very important (sporting events or similar activity are illegal in Tonga for example) and scheduling at such a time would be frowned upon. The events themselves have also been affected by religious sensitivities, notably beach volleyball where the official uniform of bikinis for women has been forced to give way to more conservative attire.^[3] However other larger nations within the region or those loosely associated with more secular states (e.g. Cook Islands (New Zealand), American Samoa (United States), and French Polynesia (France)) are more moderate in this regard.

Other global and regional events have also influenced and shaped the Games' history. In 1995, the year Papeete, Tahiti hosted the Games, many countries took the decision to boycott as a direct protest at French nuclear testing in the Pacific.^[4] The Games, however, returned to near full regional participation in the following event in 1999, held on Guam.

The first objective of the Pacific Games Council, according to its Charter,^[5] is

"To create bonds of kindred friendship and brotherhood amongst people of the countries of the Pacific region through sporting exchange without any distinctions as to race, religion or politics."

The Games were initiated to promote and develop sport amongst the nations and peoples of the South Pacific.^[1] After fifty years in existence, The South Pacific Commission changed its name to the Pacific Community.^[1]

The XII South Pacific Games held in Suva, Fiji saw for the first time the introduction of a full program of 32 sports.^[6] That program included sports that are synonymous with the Pacific region as well as sports that have a limited participation and are generally not well established.

A strong corporate sponsorship package a first for the games enabled the organizers to work with a free hand towards their aims of making the games a success. A colorful and effective media and publicity campaign generated much interest and enthusiasm among the public in Fiji. Schools and youth groups were involved in interactive programs such as the adopt-a-country program also a first for the games.^[7]

The XIII Pacific Games were hosted in Apia, Samoa. They were the 13th to have been held since 1963. In contrast to the Olympic Games which are expected to generate income for the host nation,^[8] the 2007 Pacific Games were expected to leave Samoa US$92million in debt, predominantly as a result of expenditure on large-scale infrastructure projects such as bridges and roads.^[9]

Potential debt positions notwithstanding, five nations (Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, Solomon Islands, Tonga and American Samoa) bid for the 2015 Pacific Games. The Games were ultimately awarded to Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea and follow the 2011 Pacific Games held in Nouméa, New Caledonia. However the rising cost (purportedly in excess of $1 billion) and the logistical burden of putting on the games continue to threaten countries' abilities to host the event.^[10]

The games governing body is the Pacific Games Council. The Games council flag is presented to the host nation of the next games at the end of every games. With expansion and economic growth in the Pacific and Oceania countries of the Pacific Islands, the South Pacific Games Council decided to modernise and revise its charter in light of these changes in the region and the changing place of Sport in our society, thus the council adapted a new charter in 2007.

The current President of the Council is Vidhya Lakhan from Fiji.

Membership of the Council includes internationally recognised National Multisport Organisations within countries and territories who are members of the Pacific Community.^[5] There are currently 22 members, 15 of which are members of the International Olympic Committee (IOC).^[11] The Pitcairn Islands are the only Pacific Community member that is not a member of the Pacific Games Council, whereas Norfolk Island was admitted as a member of the Council despite not being a member of the Pacific Community.

In July 2014, the Oceania National Olympic Committees voted to allow Australia and New Zealand to take part in the 2015 Pacific Games. The risk of seeing the two wealthy, populous developed nations dominate the competition had previously prevented their inclusion. They were allowed to send participants only in rugby sevens, sailing, taekwondo and weightlifting — sports where other Pacific countries had proved sufficiently competitive against them in the past.^[12] New Zealand was allowed to compete in the 2019 men's football competition with an U-23 team, which won the gold medal.^[13] Australia and New Zealand have since continued to compete on an invitational basis.

In 2018, the Council created an "associate membership" category for other territories in Oceania.^[14] Potential candidates for membership include Bougainville, Easter Island, Western New Guinea, Hawaii and Christmas Island.^[15]

Nation	Organisation	Website
American Samoa	American Samoa National Olympic Committee (ASNOC)	asnoc.org/
Cook Islands	Cook Islands Sports and National Olympic Committee (CISNOC)	oceaniasport.com/cookis
Federated States of Micronesia	Federated States of Micronesia National Olympic Committee (FSMNOC)	oceaniasport.com/fsm
Fiji	Fiji Association of Sports and National Olympic Committee (FASANOC)	fijiolympiccommittee.com
Guam	Guam National Olympic Committee (GNOC)	oceaniasport.com/guam
Kiribati	Kiribati National Olympic Committee (KNOC)	oceaniasport.com/kiribati
Marshall Islands	Marshall Islands National Olympic Committee (MINOC)	oceaniasport.com/marshalls
Nauru	Nauru Olympic Committee	oceaniasport.com/nauru
New Caledonia	Comité Territorial Olympique et Sportif de Nouvelle-Calédonie (CTOS)	www.ctos.nc
Niue	Niue Island Sports and Commonwealth Games Association (NISCGA)	oceaniasport.com/niue
Norfolk Island	Norfolk Island Amateur Sports & Commonwealth Games Association	sportingpulse.com/assoc_page.cgi?assoc=3852
Northern Mariana Islands	Northern Marianas Amateur Sports Association	sportingpulse.com/assoc_page.cgi?assoc=3859
Palau	Palau National Olympic Committee (PNOC)	oceaniasport.com/palau
Papua New Guinea	Papua New Guinea Sports Federation & National Olympic Committee (PNGSFOC)	oceaniasport.com/png
Samoa	Samoa Association of Sports and National Olympic Committee (SASNOC)	oceaniasport.com/samoa
Solomon Islands	Solomon Islands National Olympic Committee (NOCSI)	oceaniasport.com/solomon
Tahiti	Comité olympique de Polynésie française (COPF)	www.copftahiti.com
Tokelau	Tokelau Sports Federation	sportingpulse.com/assoc_page.cgi?assoc=3861
Tonga	Tonga Sports Association and National Olympic Committee (TASANOC)	oceaniasport.com/tonga
Tuvalu	Tuvalu Association of Sports and National Olympic Committee (TASNOC)	oceaniasport.com/tuvalu
Vanuatu	Vanuatu Association of Sports and National Olympic Committee (VASANOC)	oceaniasport.com/vanuatu
Wallis and Futuna	Comité Territorial Olympique et Sportif des Iles Wallis et Futuna (CTOSWF)	wallisetfutuna.franceolympique.com

1963, 1979, 2003

1966, 1987, 2011

1969, 1991, 2015

1971, 1995, 2027

1975

1999

1983, 2007, 2019

2023

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Host cities of the Pacific Games

Overview of the Pacific Games

Year	Edition	Host city	Host Association	Opened by	Sports	Events	Teams	Start date	End date	Competitors	Top Association	Ref
1963	I	Suva	Fiji	Sir Kenneth Maddocks	10	58	13	29 Aug.	8 Sep.	646	Fiji
1966	II	Nouméa	New Caledonia	Unknown	12	86	14	8 Dec.	18 Dec.	1200	New Caledonia
1969	III	Port Moresby	Papua New Guinea	Prince Edward	15	95	12	13 Aug.	23 Aug.	1150	New Caledonia
1971	IV	Papeete	Tahiti	Pierre Messmer	17	117	14	25 Aug.	5 Sep.	2000	New Caledonia
1975	V	Tamuning	Guam	Ricardo Bordallo	16	119	13	1 Aug.	10 Aug.	1205	New Caledonia
1979	VI	Suva	Fiji	Unknown	18	129	19	28 Aug.	8 Sep.	2672	New Caledonia
1983	VII	Apia	Western Samoa	Malietoa Tanumafili II	15	97	13	5 Sep.	16 Sep.	2500	New Caledonia
1987	VIII	Nouméa	New Caledonia	Unknown	18	159	12	8 Dec.	20 Dec.	1650	New Caledonia
1991	IX	Port Moresby	Papua New Guinea	Prince Andrew	17	164	16	7 Sep.	21 Sep.	2000	Papua New Guinea
1995	X	Papeete	Tahiti	Unknown	25	253	12	25 Aug.	5 Sep.	2000	New Caledonia
1999	XI	Santa Rita	Guam	Unknown	22	233	21	29 May	12 Jun.	3000+	New Caledonia
2003	XII	Suva	Fiji	Josefa Iloilo	32	309	22	28 Jun.	12 Jul.	5000	New Caledonia
2007	XIII	Apia	Samoa	Tufuga Efi	33	305	22	25 Aug.	8 Sep.	5000	New Caledonia
2011	XIV	Nouméa	New Caledonia	Nicolas Sarkozy	27	305	22	27 Aug.	10 Sep.	4300	New Caledonia
2015	XV	Port Moresby	Papua New Guinea	Prince Andrew	28	300	24	4 Jul.	18 Jul.	3700	Papua New Guinea
2019	XVI	Apia	Samoa	Va'aletoa Sualauvi II	26	322	24	7 Jul.	20 Jul.	3500	New Caledonia
2023	XVII	Honiara	Solomon Islands	Manasseh Sogavare	24	342	24	19 Nov.	2 Dec.	5000	New Caledonia	[16]
2027	XVIII	Pirae	Tahiti	TBA	24	TBD	24	24 Jul.	8 Aug.	TBD
2031	XIX	Nuku'alofa	Tonga	TBA	24	TBD	24	TBD

There are 37 sports approved by the Pacific Games Council, as at December 2017.^[17] In accordance with the Pacific Games Charter, a maximum 24 sports shall be contested at every games starting from the 2023 games and onwards.^[18]

The number of Pacific Games core sports is 17, effective for the 2023 Games. The core sports are required to be included at every edition of the games.^[18] Sailing and Triathlon were made core sports in 2016,^[18] and Archery was added in 2021.^[19]

Details for each core sport, up to and including the 2023 games, are presented in the table below:

Sport (discipline)			Contested	Years
Archery			8 times	1971–1975, 1995, 2003–2011, 2019–present
Athletics			All	1963–present
Basketball  a	(5x5)		All	1963–present
	(3x3)		2 times	2019–present
Boxing			All	1963–present
Football			16 times	1963–1995, 2003–present
Golf			15 times	1969–present
Judo			12 times	1969–1979, 1987, 1995–2011, 2019–present
Outrigger canoeing (va'a)			8 times	1995–present
Rugby sevens			6 times	1999–present
Sailing			14 times	1969–1979, 1987–present
Swimming			16 times	1963–1979, 1987–present
Table tennis			All	1963–present
Taekwondo			8 times	1995–present
Tennis			All	1963–present
Triathlon			8 times	1995–present
Volleyball  b	(indoor)		All	1963–present
	(beach)		7 times	1999–present
Weightlifting			16 times	1966–present

There are 20 optional sports could be chosen for inclusion at a games, as selected by the host city organising committee. Details for each optional sport, up to and including the 2023 games, are presented in the table below:

Sport (discipline)			Contested	Years
Badminton			4 times	2003–2011, 2019
Baseball			4 times	1999–2011
Billiards			Never	N/A
Bodybuilding			6 times	1995, 2003–2015, 2023
Cricket			8 times	1979, 1987–1991, 2003–present
Cycling			5 times	1966, 1971–1975, 1987, 1995
Field hockey			5 times	1979, 2003–2007, 2015, 2023
Handball			Never	N/A
Karate			6 times	1995–2003, 2011–2015, 2023
Lawn bowls			7 times	1979, 1983, 1991, 2003–2007, 2015–2019
Netball c			13 times	1963–1969, 1979–1983, 1991–2007, 2015–present
Powerlifting			7 times	1995, 2003–present
Rugby league nines			4 times	2007, 2015–present
Shooting			7 times	1987, 1995, 2003–2019
Snooker			Never	N/A
Softball			6 times	1969–1975, 1991, 2007, 2015
Squash			9 times	1979–1991, 2003–2019
Surfing			4 times	1995, 2003–2011
Touch rugby d			5 times	2003–2007, 2015–present
Wrestling			2 times	1999, 2007

Former sports include rugby 15s (replaced by rugby 7s) and underwater fishing (last contested in 1999).

Sport (discipline)			Contested	Years
Rugby union			9 times	1963–1971, 1979–1995
Underwater fishing			4 times	1971–1975, 1995–1999

Also included at the 2009 Pacific Mini Games was rugby league 7s (now replaced by rugby league 9s).

Notes:

Officially, the final medal tally of the Games does not recognize a winner, regarding competition and fair play more highly.^[7]

*Note : Nation(s) in italics no longer participate at the Pacific Games.

Updated after the 2023 Pacific Games.

Rank	Nation	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1	New Caledonia	993	784	689	2,466
2	Tahiti	574	503	529	1,606
3	Papua New Guinea	499	473	485	1,457
4	Fiji	443	515	538	1,496
5	Samoa (includes Western Samoa)	266	214	222	702
6	Nauru	111	79	67	257
7	Australia	100	52	35	187
8	Guam	72	112	140	324
9	Tonga	60	74	114	248
10	American Samoa	45	51	84	180
11	Cook Islands	36	57	80	173
12	Vanuatu (includes New Hebrides)	32	68	111	211
13	Solomon Islands	31	88	122	241
14	Wallis and Futuna	28	48	91	167
15	Micronesia	23	15	10	48
16	New Zealand	19	32	28	79
17	Kiribati	15	28	39	82
18	Northern Mariana Islands	13	13	18	44
19	Palau	9	14	16	39
20	Norfolk Island	7	15	19	41
21	Marshall Islands	5	7	15	27
22	Tokelau	3	2	2	7
23	Tuvalu	2	9	6	17
24	Niue	2	6	13	21
25	Gilbert and Ellice Islands	0	1	1	2
Totals (25 entries)		3,388	3,260	3,474	10,122

• African Games
• Asian Games
  • South Asian Games
  • West Asian Games
  • Central Asian Games
  • Southeast Asian Games
• European Games
• Pan American Games
  • South American Games
• The Pacific Community
• Pacific Mini Games
• Olympic Games
• Youth Olympic Games
• Commonwealth Games
• Commonwealth Youth Games
• Micronesian Games
• Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games
• Jeux de la Francophonie

• List of South Pacific Games and Mini Games on www.rsssf.com by Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation

• Former Oceania Sport Information Centre page on SportsTG at the Wayback Machine (archived 29 November 2018)

• Former Oceania Sport Information Centre page on FoxSportsPulse at the Wayback Machine (archived 2 August 2016)