2005 South Pacific Mini Games

VII South Pacific Mini Games

Host city	Koror
Country	Palau
Nations participating	20
Events	12 sports
Opening ceremony	July 25, 2005
Closing ceremony	August 4, 2005
Officially opened by	Tommy Remengesau
Torch lighter	Christopher Silas Adolf
Main venue	National Stadium
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The VII South Pacific Mini Games were held July 25-August 4, 2005 in Palau.

Torch lighter was athlete Christopher Silas Adolf, Palau’s first Olympian.^[1]

Participating countries

•  American Samoa
•  Cook Islands
•  Fiji
•  Kiribati
•  Guam
•  Marshall Islands
•  FS Micronesia
•  Nauru
•  New Caledonia
•  Niue
•  Norfolk Island
•  Northern Mariana Islands
•  Palau
•  Papua New Guinea
•  Samoa
•  Solomon Islands
•  Tonga
•  Tuvalu
•  Vanuatu
•  Wallis and Futuna

Tahiti and Tokelau did not send teams to the games,^[2] with Tahiti citing a need to conserve costs.^[3]

Sports

12 sports were contested at the 2005 Pacific Mini Games:

• Athletics (39) () ^a
• Baseball (1) ^b
• Basketball (2) ^c
• Beach volleyball (2) ^d
• Outrigger canoeing (10) () ^e
• Softball (2) ^f
• Swimming (40) () ^g
• Table tennis (7) ^h
• Tennis (7) () ⁱ
• Triathlon (3) ^j
• Weightlifting (45) ^k
• Wrestling (14) ^l

Note: Numbers in parentheses indicate the number of events in each sport.

Final medal table

New Caledonia dominated the medal tally, finishing ahead of Fiji. The small nation of Nauru finished in third place with 18 gold medals; all of them gold and won in the weightlifing competition. Host nation Palau also won 18 medals and finished in sixth position on the table.^[4]

Rank	Nation	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1	New Caledonia	56	29	25	110
2	Fiji	23	21	16	60
3	Nauru	18	0	0	18
4	Papua New Guinea	16	11	8	35
5	Samoa	16	8	2	26
6	Palau	9	3	6	18
7	Guam	6	9	14	29
8	Cook Islands	5	9	7	21
9	Federated States of Micronesia	5	1	5	11
10	Tonga	5	1	3	9
11	Northern Marianas	4	12	7	23
12	Solomon Islands	2	6	3	11
13	Vanuatu	2	3	1	6
14	Wallis and Futuna	2	1	1	4
15	Marshall Islands	1	3	0	4
16	Niue	0	5	0	5
17	Norfolk Island	0	1	1	2
18	Tuvalu	0	0	2	2
19	American Samoa	0	0	1	1
	Kiribati	0	0	0	0
No medal awarded ^m		2	49	77	128
Totals		172	172	179	523

Notes

^a "Athletics". 2005 South Pacific Mini Games. 2005. Archived from the original on 2009-08-16. Retrieved 2009-08-14.

^b "Baseball". 2005 South Pacific Mini Games. 2005. Retrieved 2009-08-14.

^c Basketball was included in the 2005 Mini Games in lieu of the FIBA Oceania Tournament.^[5] "Basketball". 2005 South Pacific Mini Games. 2005. Retrieved 2009-08-14.

^d "Beach Volleyball". 2005 South Pacific Mini Games. 2005. Retrieved 2009-08-14.

^e "Outrigger Canoeing (Va'a)". 2005 South Pacific Mini Games. 2005. Retrieved 2009-08-14.

^f "Softball". 2005 South Pacific Mini Games. 2005. Retrieved 2009-08-14.

^g "Swimming". 2005 South Pacific Mini Games. 2005. Retrieved 2009-08-14.

^h "Table Tennis". 2005 South Pacific Mini Games. 2005. Retrieved 2009-08-14.

^i "Tennis". 2005 South Pacific Mini Games. 2005. Retrieved 2009-08-14.

^j "Triathlon". 2005 South Pacific Mini Games. 2005. Retrieved 2009-08-14.

^k "Weightlifting". 2005 South Pacific Mini Games. 2005. Retrieved 2009-08-14.

^l "Wrestling". 2005 South Pacific Mini Games. 2005. Retrieved 2009-08-14.

^m As per the Pacific Games Charter:^[4]

1. Only when five or more competitors compete in an event, will the Gold, Silver and Bronze medal be awarded.
2. Where only one competitor competes in an event, no medal is awarded.
3. Where two competitors compete in an event, only a Gold Medal will be awarded.
4. Where three competitors compete, only a Gold Medal will be awarded
5. Where four competitors compete, only a Gold and Silver Medal will be awarded.
6. Table Tennis award two bronze medals when a minimum of 5 competitors compete.

References

1. Rees, Tuifa’asisina Peter, Palau Worthy Host - Mini South Pacific Games 2005, Auckland: Event Polynesia, retrieved April 30, 2013
2. Seman, Shan (6 July 2005), Tahiti pullout lamented on eve of Palau games, Pacific Islands Development Program/East-West Center, retrieved April 30, 2013
3. Tahiti won’t compete in Palau Mini Games, Pacific Islands Development Program/East-West Center, 6 July 2005, retrieved April 30, 2013
4. "Medal Tally". Palau South Pacific Mini Games. 2005. Archived from the original on 2015-05-21. Retrieved 2009-08-14.
5. "FIBA Oceania Events". Sporting Pulse. 2005. p. 7, South Pacific Mini Games American Samoa. Archived from the original on 23 June 2015. Retrieved 27 May 2015.