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The South Pacific Games Council met at the Palau
Cultural Center in Koror last week and decided to rename the South
Pacific Games, the Pacific Games in order to reflect the
participation and incorporation of the Island Nations in the
Northern Pacific Region.
The numerical order of the Games
will continue with the next Games identified as the VIII Pacific
Games or Mini Games where applicable.
In 2009, the Cook
Islands will be host to the VIII Pacific Mini Games and the SPG
Council awarded the 2011 Pacific Games to New Caledonia.
The
Games distinction has to do with the number of compulsory sports the
hosting nation can incorporate into the Games. The flexibility is
made in order to take into account the economic condition,
population size and infrastructure of the interested country in
order afford them the opportunity to participate in hosting of the
Games.
Rick Blas, President of the Guam National Olympic
Committee and past president of the South Pacific Games Council
said, "Countries like Palau, Norfolk Islands, Solomon Islands,
Vanuatu, Tonga and the Cook Islands normally host the Mini Games.
The Council's Charter Committee increased the number of
compulsory sports to 11 for future Games during their meeting last
week and determined that hosting nations could incorporate a minimum
of 16 optional sports for competition. Examples of compulsory sports
in past games include Athletics, Lawn Tennis, Swimming,
Weightlifting and Soccer to name a few.
If you aren't
already confused by all this sport talk, get ready for more
delineation of the Games structure in the Oceania Region.
In
addition to the Pacific Games and the Pacific Mini Games, there is a
creature called the Micronesian Games, a regional games in which
athletes in Micronesia compete.
The Micronesian Games is a
very successful games, and in Palau, it was decided that the 2006
Micronesian Games would be moved from Yap to the Commonwealth of the
Northern Mariana Islands.
More commonly referred to as the
Micro Games, its success may see the development of the Polynesian
Games and the Melanesian Games, encouraging the development and
strengthening of regional competition.
Where can regional
sports development go in the future? It makes sense that one day,
the victors of the Regional Games would meet at the Pacific Games
for championship matches. This supposition would insure the
reduction in cost for hosting the games, insuring more competition
since fewer and only regional athletes can participate.
This
will also insure a reduction in cost of the Pacific Games because
fewer participation will assure an elevated level of competition in
the Pacific
Games.
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