Pacific Mini Games

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

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
Main article: Pacific Games § Council

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
Host cities of the Pacific Mini Games

List of Pacific Mini Games
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 55115 8 Jul. 16 Jul.600+  New​ Caledonia
1985 II Rarotonga  Cook Islands Unknown 65616 31 Jul. 9 Aug.700  Papua New Guinea
1989 III Nuku'alofa  Tonga King Tāufaʻāhau Tupou IV 69316 22 Aug. 1 Sep.832 Samoa Western​ Samoa
1993 IV Port Vila  Vanuatu Unknown 66715 6 Dec. 16 Dec.  Fiji
1997 V Pago Pago  American Samoa Unknown 1114419 11 Aug. 22 Aug.1798  Nauru
2001 VI Kingston  Norfolk Island Unknown 109718 3 Dec. 14 Dec.  Fiji
2005 VII Koror  Palau Tommy Remengesau 1217020 25 Jul. 4 Aug. New Caledonia
2009 VIII Rarotonga  Cook Islands Frederick Tutu Goodwin 1514421 21 Sep. 2 Oct.1354+  Fiji
2013 IX Mata Utu  Wallis and Futuna François Hollande 812722 2 Sep. 12 Sep.  Papua New Guinea
2017 X Port Vila  Vanuatu Tallis Obed Moses 1417324 5 Dec. 15 Dec.2000  New Caledonia
2021 XI Saipan  Northern Mariana Islands Ralph Torres 914419 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
Further information: Pacific Games § Sports

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

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

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

References
  1. "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
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