1997 South Pacific Mini Games

1997 South Pacific Mini Games 1997_South_Pacific_Mini_Games_logo.png 132px Pago Pago American Samoa 19 1,798teams * 11 sports 1997 08 11 1997 08 22 1993 Port Vila 2001 Kingston The 1997 South Pacific Mini Games were held at Pago Pago in American Samoa from 11 to 22 August 1997. It was the fifth edition of the South Pacific Mini Games. It was much larger than previous editions, with an almost doubling of the number of medals awarded compared to the 1993 South Pacific Mini Games. The impressive performances by Nauru in weightlifting continued in Pago Pago, with the tiny nation finishing on top of the unofficial medal table after winning 33 gold. The 1997 Games were criticized for poor preparation by local and international journalists, with Matai Akauo in the Pacific Islands Monthly describing them as "the most disoganised ever in the history of the Pacific Islands Council". Without other means transportation, some athletes had to walk to their venues. However, the games went ahead and the events were able to be completed. Participating countries Nineteen Pacific nations participated in the Games:teams * 18em American Samoa (247) Cook Islands (145) Federated States of Micronesia (11) Fiji 1970 (203) French Polynesia 1946 (125), "Tahiti" Guam (96) Kiribati (27) Nauru (84) New Caledonia 1853 (111) Niue (33) Norfolk Island (9) Northern Marianas (28) Palau (72) Papua New Guinea (177) Samoa (195) Solomon Islands (76) Tonga (99) Vanuatu (38) Wallis and Futuna (13) Note: A number in parentheses indicate the size of a country's team. Sports The 1997 South Pacific Mini Games hosted eleven sports: 15em Athletics 42 Boxing 12 m Basketball 2 mbasketball a Golf 4 mgolf b Netball 1netball c Rugby sevens 1 Powerlifting 21 m Sailing 5 msailing d Tennis 7 m Volleyball 2 mvolleyball e Weightlifting 54 mweightlift f Note: A number in parentheses indicates how many medal events were contested in that sport. Final medal table Nauru topped the medal table due to gold medals won in weightlifting. Fiji won the most overall medals: 33 10 12 31 31 28 20 23 7 18 23 17 14 9 13 10 8 4 NCL 1853 7 9 8 TAH 1946 4 4 9 2 6 11 2 4 4 2 2 2 1 3 4 0 3 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 See also Athletics at the 1997 South Pacific Mini Games Notes teams * The official site provided web pages for each country with the number of athletes in each team: American Samoa Cook Islands FS Micronesia Fiji Tahiti Guam Kiribati Nauru New Caledonia Niue Niue Northern Marianas Palau Papua New Guinea Solomon Islands Tonga Vanuatu Wallis and Futuna Samoa basketball a Basketball was included in the 1997 Mini Games in lieu of the FIBA Oceania Tournament. golf b Golf: Adi Sai won bronze as a member of the Fijian women's team at the 1979, 1983 and 1987 SPG, and at the 1989, 1993, and 1997 SPMG. netball c Netballers walked to their training venue. sailing d Sailing: Dean Hudson was a bronze medalist for American Samoa sailing Hobie 16's at the 1997 South Pacific Mini Games. volleyball e International Volleyball Federation (FIVB) coach Sue Gozansky coached the Tongan women's and men's teams in preparation for the 1997 Mini Games. weightlift f The large number of medals awarded for weightlifting (three per weight division) allowed Nauru to top the gold medal count. References 25em 1997 Matai Akauola Little fun in Games Pacific Islands Monthly 67 9 p.44 Pacific Publications 27 May 2015 https://books.google.com/books?id=XY50AAAAMAAJ&q=farce 1997 5th South Pacific Mini Games Islands Business 23 9 p.8 Islands Business International Limited 27 May 2015 https://books.google.com/books?id=XY50AAAAMAAJ&q=farce 1997 Matai Akauola Little fun in Games Pacific Islands Monthly 67 9 p.44, Col. 3 Pacific Publications 27 May 2015 https://books.google.com/books?id=XY50AAAAMAAJ&q=%22negative+reports%22 1997 Matai Akauola Little fun in Games Pacific Islands Monthly 67 9 p.44, Col. 3 Pacific Publications 27 May 2015 https://books.google.com/books?id=XY50AAAAMAAJ&q=%22netballers%22 2015 Sue Gozansky USA Volleyball 27 May 2015 http://www.teamusa.org/USA-Volleyball/Education/Coaching-Education-Programs/Resources/CAP-Cadre-Members/Sue-Gozansky https://web.archive.org/web/20150328042407/http://www.teamusa.org/USA-Volleyball/Education/Coaching-Education-Programs/Resources/CAP-Cadre-Members/Sue-Gozansky dead March 28, 2015 2012 25 years of weightlifting in Nauru Nauru Weightlifting Federation 27 May 2015 http://www.sportingpulse.com/get_file.cgi?id=2185170 live https://web.archive.org/web/20130524172623/http://www.sportingpulse.com/get_file.cgi?id=2185170 24 May 2013 2005 FIBA Oceania Events p. 7, South Pacific Mini Games American Samoa Sporting Pulse 27 May 2015 http://www.sportingpulse.com/get_file.cgi?id=360915 live https://web.archive.org/web/20150924145631/http://www.sportingpulse.com/get_file.cgi?id=360915 24 September 2015 22 August 1997 South Pacific Mini Games end: final report Pacific Islands Report 15 May 2015 http://archives.pireport.org/archive/1997/august/08-25-13.html dead https://web.archive.org/web/20150528094445/http://archives.pireport.org/archive/1997/august/08-25-13.html 2015-05-28 9 October 2009 Golf in Fiji will farewell Adi Sai National Golf Association of Fiji 23 June 2015 http://www.foxsportspulse.com/assoc_page.cgi?c=1-1396-0-0-0&sID=14276&news_task=DETAIL&articleID=21383567 live https://web.archive.org/web/20150623082314/http://www.foxsportspulse.com/assoc_page.cgi?c=1-1396-0-0-0&sID=14276&news_task=DETAIL&articleID=21383567 23 June 2015 24 January 2014 Membership biography: Dean Hudson (Chair) National Marine Sanctuary of American Samoa 23 June 2015 http://americansamoa.noaa.gov/council/members.html live https://web.archive.org/web/20150623163527/http://americansamoa.noaa.gov/council/members.html 23 June 2015 1997 Sports Events 1997 South Pacific Mini Games 23 June 2015 http://www.samoanet.com/spmg/sports/spmgspo1.html dead https://web.archive.org/web/19990202131358/http://www.samoanet.com/spmg/sports/spmgspo1.html 2 February 1999 2013 Medals Won at Mini Games Pacific Games Council 15 May 2015 http://www.sportingpulse.com/assoc_page.cgi?c=2-2642-0-0-0&sID=24022 live https://web.archive.org/web/20150418192040/http://www.sportingpulse.com/assoc_page.cgi?c=2-2642-0-0-0&sID=24022 18 April 2015 Sources Final Results August 11–21. 1997: 5th South Pacific Mini Games Oceania Sport Information Centre 23 April 2017 http://websites.sportstg.com/get_file.cgi?id=35641687 live https://web.archive.org/web/20170423101720/http://websites.sportstg.com/get_file.cgi?id=35641687 23 April 2017 SPMG Results 1997 External links 1997 South Pacific Mini Games http://www.samoanet.com/spmg/ dead https://web.archive.org/web/19981205055304/http://www.samoanet.com/spmg/ 5 December 1998 expanded Category:Pacific Games by year Category:Sports in American Samoa Pacific Games P Category:1997 in American Samoan sports Category:International sports competitions hosted by American Samoa Pacific Mini Games