Four express interest in hosting 2015 Pacific Games

Four island-nations have shown an interest to host the 2015 Pacific Games.

The list includes Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, American Samoa, and Tonga.

The four island-nations expressed their willingness to host the 15th edition of the quadrennial meet during the Pacific Games Council General Assembly in Rarotonga, Cook Islands last month.

Formal bids should be submitted next year during the 2009 South Pacific Games, which will run from Sept. 21 to Oct. 2.

Of the four island-nations, only PNG had hosted the Pacific Games (in 1991). The Solomon Islands, American Samoa, and Tonga have hosted only the Mini Games.

Honiara hosted the inaugural Mini Games in 1981, Tonga in 1989, and American Samoa in 1997.

Rarotonga hosted the 1985 Mini Games and next year will be its second time to host the same event. Fort Villa in Vanuatu hosted the Mini Games in 1993, Norfork Islands in 2001, and Palau in 2005. Wallis and Futuna will host the 2013 Mini Games.

Last year’s Pacific Games was held in Apia, Samoa while the 2011 edition of the Games take place in New Caledonia.

New Caledonia will host SPG for the third time having hosted the same event in 1966 and 1987.

Fiji hosted the inaugural SPG in 1963 with 13 island-nations and 646 athletes competing in 10 events.

Meanwhile, the Cook Islands Organizing Committee assured chef de missions of the 22 island-nations that facilities and venues will be ready before the Mini Games start.

A multi-sports complex is under construction and is expected to be completed in June next year. The multi-sports complex will be used for netball, weightlifting, and squash competitions.

The committee is also working on securing funds to build an all-weather track and field facility similar to the one located at the Oleai Sports Complex. For now, the track at the National Stadium in Tereora is made of grass.

Only 15 sports will be played in next year’s Mini Games due to limited facilities.

The list include athletics, boxing, golf, lawn bowls, netball, rugby 7’s, rugby league, sailing, squash, table tennis, touch, triathlon, canoeing, weightlifting, and lawn tennis.

The CNMI is skipping next year’s Mini Games despite the last-minute inclusion of tennis in the calendar of events replacing body building.

The Commonwealth had netters interested in competing in Rarotonga, but the restrictive policy on the eligibility rules would not allow foreign-born Kana Aikawa and Ji Hoon Heo to participate in the tennis competition.