Pacific Games

The Vanuatu Daily Post reports Vanuatu Rugby League president Antonio Korikalo saying it was a big achievement for the sport in the country.

Players were presented with their Games outfit in Port Vila on Saturday.

Vanuatu will be competing for medals against teams such as the Solomon Islands, Tonga, Samoa, Fiji and the Cook Islands.

A statement on the Solomons 2023 Pacific Games website said 11 Pacific Island nations' contingents have been confirmed to be accommodated in the games village sites starting on November 14.

Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare, who is also the minister responsible for the games, formally received the village complex from the university on Friday, October 13.

The SINU project covers three different campuses which includes the university's Kukum, Marine and Panatina Campuses.

Bargmann is no stranger to the team after he coached the team in their gold medal success at the 2019 Pacific Games in Samoa.

The Vanuatu Volleyball Federation said Bargmann has returned from Germany with his young family, for 5 months to oversee the title defence.

But with the 2023 Games in Solomon Islands just over a month away, this time there is good news, with VASANOC confirming that both the men's and women's rugby league squads will be making the trip to Honiara.      

And with one of the medal favourites having already pulled out of the competition, the door may be open for Vanuatu to make an impact at their first attempt. 

The presentation was part of the 60th anniversary of the Games.

Inside the Games reports Zullah wore the blazer at the event in Suva in 1963.

Pacific Games Council President Vidhya Lakhan maintains the importance of the Pacific Games to the region's athletes who may not get the chance to go to the Olympics.

"This is our continental Games and is also an opportunity for athletes from the Oceania to qualify for either the Olympic Games or Commonwealth Games as it is a recognised qualifying Games for certain sports," he said.

Secretary So'oletaua Motuliki told RNZ Pacific from Port Vila last Thursday they were seeking funds to enable them to make the Games trip.

Motuliki said funding would be necessary especially if the Vanuatu Amateur Sports Association and National Olympic Committee (VASANOC) has to make the call on what sports teams might have to be left out.

This is because VASANOC might be restrained financially to send a full Vanuatu squad to the Games.

"The initial budget, unfortunately, is not what was observed initially," she said.

Seventeen sports teams will travel to Honiara to compete and each participant is required to pay 50,400 vatu by this month to the Solomon Islands organising committee as their participation fees.

Team Vanuatu Chef De Mission, William Worworkon, said they are also looking at sending athletes overseas to train and prepare for the Games which are being held in November.

The team will go through a seven day program in the Gold Coast, where they will receive expert coaching from Australian mentors.

The netballers will also participate in high level trial games against semi-professional franchises and other Pacific teams.

Solomon Islands National Institute of Sports performance manager Amanda Korinihona says the tour will be "a great experience for them to perform as a team on international level".

Eight Honiara-based players left the capital city on Monday, while the rest are expected to join the team on Wednesday.

Pacific Games Council Chief Executive Officer Andrew Minogue told RNZ Pacific the Pacific Games Organising Committee would produce the programmes and have the selected broadcasters share that in their respective countries reports RNZ Pacific.

"We have basically settled on a model that is like the traditional model that we've employed in previous Games where the Organising Committee will sort of put it all together in-house and then contract with different regional broadcasters, for example, Fiji TV in Fiji or France Television for the French territories," Minogue revealed.

On 24 March, World Athletics announced new regulations that would completely bar transgender male-to-female athletes from participating in its competitions.

The governing body also announced stricter restrictions on athletes with DSD which is expected to impact champion Olympic athletes.

"Our position is quite simple," council president Vidya Lakhan told RNZ Pacific.

"So, we are always guided by the respective international federations.