The 9th Pacific Mini Games have come to an end after ten wonderful days of sporting moments in Wallis and Futuna.
The 9th Pacific Mini Games were held from 2-12 September 2013 in Wallis and Futuna, and were opened by the French Minister for Overseas Territories, the honourable Victorin Lurel. It was the first time that Wallis and Futuna had hosted the Pacific Mini Games, or any event of a similar magnitude, and so it was a tremendous opportunity for the local population to welcome the Pacific community to its shores for the first time.
Conversely, it was also a wonderful opportunity for the participating Pacific nations to learn something about the special culture and history of Wallis and Futuna. The Games motto said it all: Pasifika Lena, Pasifika Pe’ia – the unique Pacific, the simple Pacific! These Pacific Mini Games were a joy for all participants to behold, set amongst this very traditional and authentic culture and environment. And everyone got a chance to polish up their basic French, with lots of bonjours, merci beaucoups, and bon appetits, and even learn a few Wallisian phrases like malo te ma’uli for good morning and malo pe si'i ofa for thank you!
20 Pacific nations and territories participated in the 9th Pacific Mini Games, with all but one of them claiming a medal, and an impressive 15 nations taking home at least one gold medal. Papua New Guinea led the way with 30 gold medals and 87 medals in total, leaving it in great shape to mount a major challenge when its hosts the 15th Pacific Games in 2015. Tahiti were second, followed by New Caledonia, Fiji and Samoa rounding out the top five. The host nation, Wallis and Futuna, finished a very creditable 9th with 2 gold medals, and an impressive 19 silver medals and 17 bronze medals, for a total of 38. Tuvalu (in Weightlifting) won its first ever Pacific Games gold medal, making Lapua Lapua a national hero.
There were eight sports on the 2013 Pacific Mini Games program: Athletics, Beach Volleyball, Rugby 7s, Sailing, Taekwondo, Va’a (Outrigger Canoeing), Volleyball, and Weightlifting.
There were terrific performances in each of these sports, and some historic achievements as well, including the first ever invitation to an Australian team to compete in a concurrent Oceania Sailing Championships held at the same time as the Games Sailing competition. The Aussie sailors did not have it all their own way either, with Fiji beating them in the Hobie Cat classes.
Samoa dominated the Rugby 7s, Tahiti scooped the pool in Va’a and won most of the Taekwondo gold medals as well, Papua New Guinea and Samoa took most of the Weightlifting gold medals with many Pacific Games records broken, while New Caledonia performed well across the board with a predominantly young team preparing for the 2015 Pacific Games. And in Athletics, all eyes were on Fiji’s sprint king Banuve Tabakaucoro, who celebrated his 21st birthday with a Pacific Games record win in the 100 metres, clocking a hugely impressive 10.33 seconds.
In four years time in 2017, the athletes of the Pacific will gather again for the 10th Pacific Mini Games in Vanuatu, which had the honour of hosting the 4th Pacific Mini Games back in 1993. In the meantime, we can all look forward to the 15th Pacific Games in Port Moresby in 2015, as well as reflecting with a great sense of pride in the achievements of Wallis and Futuna in 2013!
Congratulations, felicitations and malo pe si'i ofa Wallis and Futuna.
Last Modified on 02/02/2016 09:05