Pacific Mini Games

Summary

The Pacific Mini Games is a continental multi-sport event contested by countries and territories located in Oceania. The event has been held every four years since the inaugural games in Honiara, Solomon Islands in 1981. It was known as the South Pacific Mini Games prior to 2009. It is called the 'Mini' games because it is a scaled-down version of the main Pacific Games and is similarly rotated on a four-year basis in the intervening years between the main Games.

Pacific Mini Games
AbbreviationPMG
First event1981
Occur every4 years
HeadquartersSuva, Fiji
PresidentVidhya Lakhan
WebsiteOfficial website

The Mini Games have been hosted by 9 different Pacific Island capitals around 4 countries and 5 territories. Only the Cook Islands and Vanuatu have hosted twice, with Palau set to host the event for the second time in 2025. Similarly to the main Games, 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.

Unlike the main Games, there is equal dominance from Pacific Games associations (PGA's). Papua New Guinea, New Caledonia, and Fiji have all ranked first a record 3 times each with Samoa and Nauru topping a games once.

Concept edit

Following the success of the main Pacific Games, the Pacific Games council decided to create a smaller version of the games to enable smaller nations and territories to host events and compete against each other. From this came the Pacific Mini Games.

Pacific Games Council edit

The governing body for the mini games is the Pacific Games Council. Much like the main games, the Games council flag is presented to the host nation of the next mini games at the end of every games. As of 2017,[1] the council has 22 member nations.

Two other nations, Australia and New Zealand, are not members of the council but are invited as observers to the council's general assembly.[1] These nations participated at the mini games in 2017 and made their main games debut in 2015.[1]

Editions edit

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Host cities of the Pacific Mini Games

List of Pacific Mini Games edit

Overview of the Pacific Mini Games
Year Edition Host city Host Association Opened by Sports Events Teams Start date End date Competitors Top Association Ref
1981 I Honiara   Solomon Islands Unknown 5 51 15 8 Jul. 16 Jul. 600+   New​ Caledonia
1985 II Rarotonga   Cook Islands Unknown 6 56 16 31 Jul. 9 Aug. 700   Papua New Guinea
1989 III Nuku'alofa   Tonga King Tāufaʻāhau Tupou IV 6 93 16 22 Aug. 1 Sep. 832   Western​ Samoa
1993 IV Port Vila   Vanuatu Unknown 6 67 15 6 Dec. 16 Dec.   Fiji
1997 V Pago Pago   American Samoa Unknown 11 144 19 11 Aug. 22 Aug. 1798   Nauru
2001 VI Kingston   Norfolk Island Unknown 10 97 18 3 Dec. 14 Dec.   Fiji
2005 VII Koror   Palau Tommy Remengesau 12 170 20 25 Jul. 4 Aug.   New Caledonia
2009 VIII Rarotonga   Cook Islands Frederick Tutu Goodwin 15 144 21 21 Sep. 2 Oct. 1354+   Fiji
2013 IX Mata Utu   Wallis and Futuna François Hollande 8 127 22 2 Sep. 12 Sep.   Papua New Guinea
2017 X Port Vila   Vanuatu Tallis Obed Moses 14 173 24 5 Dec. 15 Dec. 2000   New Caledonia
2021 XI Saipan   Northern Mariana Islands Ralph Torres 9 144 19 17 Jun. 25 Jun. 1034   Papua New Guinea
2025 XII Koror   Palau TBA TBD

As with the main games, the cost of providing the necessary facilities and infrastructure is a concern to the region's smaller nations. In preparation for the 2009 Games in Rarotonga, despite having hosted the games previously, the local government considered diverting funds from a highway project, and secured a loan for US$10 million from the Chinese government to finance the building of a stadium.[2][3]

Sports edit

There are 37 approved sports by the Pacific Games Council updated in 2019. Unlike the main games, the Pacific Mini Games does not have a compulsory sports list. However, 50 percent of the sports selected for a games must be from the compulsory sports list of the Pacific Games Council.

After the 2022 Games in Saipan, 29 of the 37 sports have been included at the Mini Games since the inaugural edition in 1981.

Listed are sports already contested at the Pacific Mini Games.

Sport Contested Years
Discipline
Archery 2 times 2001, 2017
Athletics All 1981–present
Badminton Once 2022
Baseball 2 times 2005, 2022–present
Basketball Basketball 2 times 1997, 2005
3x3 Basketball Once 2017
Bodybuilding Once 2001
Boxing 6 times 1981, 1989–1997, 2009, 2017
Football 3 times 1981, 1993, 2017
Golf 8 times 1985–2001, 2009, 2017–present
Judo Once 2017
Karate Once 2017
Lawn bowls 3 times 1985, 2001, 2009
Netball 8 times 1981–2001, 2009, 2017
Outrigger canoeing 4 times 2005–2013, 2022–present
Powerlifting Once 1997
Rugby 7s 4 times 1997, 2009–2017
Sailing 3 times 1997, 2009−2013
Shooting Once 2001
Softball Once 2005
Squash 2 times 2001, 2009
Swimming Once 2005
Table tennis 3 times 2005–09, 2017
Taekwondo Once 2013
Tennis 10 times 1981–2009, 2017–present
Touch rugby Once 2009
Triathlon 4 times 2001–2009, 2022–present
Volleyball Indoor volleyball 2 times 1997, 2013
Beach volleyball 4 times 2005, 2013–present
Weightlifting 7 times 1989, 1997, 2005–present
Wrestling Once 2005

Former sports edit

Both disciplines have been replaced by other versions of the sports. Rugby 15s (replaced by Rugby 7s), and Rugby league 7s (replaced by Rugby league 9s).

Sport Contested Years
Rugby 15s Once 1985
Rugby league 7s Once 2009

All-time medal table edit

This table shows all medals won by a Pacific Games association since the inaugural games in 1981 to the most recent games held in 2022.

RankNationGoldSilverBronzeTotal
1  New​ Caledonia248193146587
2  Fiji189178178545
3  Papua New Guinea182187173542
4  French Polynesia151109105365
5  Samoa1338088301
6  Nauru662330119
7  Vanuatu425759158
8  Cook Islands384950137
9  Tonga334275150
10  Solomon Islands287463165
11  American Samoa27322281
12  Kiribati22111750
13  Northern Mariana Islands20251863
14  Guam19193472
15  Australia163524
16  Palau1211831
17  Wallis and Futuna9243265
18  Micronesia96520
19  Norfolk Island7171438
20  Marshall Islands56011
21  Tuvalu331117
22  Niue214723
23  New Zealand2709
  Independent PGC athletes2103
24  Tokelau0213
Totals (24 entries)1265117311413579

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ a b c "Vanuatu committed to 2017 Pacific Mini Games". Cook Islands News. 11 May 2017. Archived from the original on 7 October 2017. Retrieved 7 October 2017.
  2. ^ Stadium and China loan on hold Archived 8 February 2013 at the Wayback Machine Cook Islands News Online, 12 September 2007
  3. ^ "Stadium for Mini Games in Cooks gets go-ahead". Radio New Zealand. 11 March 2008. Archived from the original on 1 August 2009.

Sources edit

  • Charter – Constitution adopted Apia, Samoa 14 May 2006 – Protocols and Regulations adopted by Executive Board on 17th January 2007 and 20th March 2007 (PDF) (Report). Pacific Games Council. 2007. Archived from the original (PDF 0.3 MB) on 28 September 2007. Retrieved 15 May 2015.