Vanuatu

In perfect snyc for gold

In the heart of Korman complex, flags were waving in the crowd as para-athletes took their spot on the starting line, ready to take off at the sound of the starting gun.

Sylvain Bova, a vision impaired runner from New Caledonia, was positioned in lane one and took his mark with his guide, Germain Haewegene, by his side as they prepared to sprint for gold in the Men’s 100m ambulant final.

Twelve seconds and thirteen milliseconds later, they crossed the finish line in perfect sync with each matching the other’s stride.

Vanuatu breaks games record for medals

Vanuatu secured its sixth gold medal of the Games on Saturday morning in the final of the tennis Men’s teams event surpassing the previous highest total for the nation of five gold.

President of the Vanuatu Tennis Federation, CyrilleMainguy could not have been prouder of the performance on court this morning.

“We made history – it’s the first gold medal for Tennis in any Pacific Games,” he said.

“We have previously won silver in 2009 Mini Games, 2011, 2015 and this year at home we have got gold out of the nine countries that are present.”

Women's football wows the crowd despite Vanuatu's scoreless draw

The showpiece of the night was a tough match between front-runners Vanuatu and Fiji that ended 0-0.

Vanuatu had been looking to build on their 5-0 opening win over Solomon Islands, while Fiji had recorded the same score over Tonga in their opener.

However this match proved a far closer contest. Both teams were very strong and had several chances.

The crowd cheered wildly with Fiji, as well as the home side, drawing strong support.

In the earlier match, Tonga defeated Solomon Islands 3-1 to the delight of Tonga’s excitable fans.

Fiji, Solomons men put perfect start to the test

The Fijians thrashed Tuvalu 8-0 in Saturday's opening round, while Solomon Islands racked up the same scoreline against Tonga.

Fiji coach Christophe Gamel said despite the lopsided scoreline they made a number of big mistakes, which they couldn't afford to repeat against the Bonitos.

"We know their values, they are technical players. Let's see, it will be interesting for the youth also and for me to compete against this team, it's always interesting," Gamel said.

Solomon Islands coach Felipe Vega-Arango is taking more of a long term approach.

Vanuatu proud to host Pacific Mini Games

“For the past six years we have been preparing for this night and the next 12 days of the games,” Simeon Seule addressed the crowds and leaders during the opening ceremony yesterday.

“We have had challenges that everyone acknowledges but with the people and the Vanuatu Government, firmly supporting the games, we have overcome those challenges and now stand ready to hosts the Pacific and deliver those games for the athletes, spectators and broadcast viewers to the highest standards,” he said.

10th Pacific Mini Games underway, thanks to late Joe Carlo

Thanks to the foresight and vision of the late Joe Borman Carlo, former president of Vanuatu Sports Association and National Olympic Committee (VASANOC).

“Joe led the successful bid of this Games,” said Vidya Lakhan, president of the Pacific Games Council.

The late Joe Carlo was part of the 4th Pacific Mini Games held in Vila in 1993 and was chairman of the VAN2017 Games Organising Committee when he passed away last year.

“While we miss him deeply, the success of these games will be a testament to his sporting legacy.”

Mini Games focuses on development

In order to address one of its key Sustainable Development Goals for the event, the Van2017 LOC has created Em Pawa, a counterpart to the Games’ official mascot Nasi.

Em Pawa will be an advocate for messages of equality and non-discrimination, non-violence, supporting of positive and healthy decisions, encouraging others to challenge gender stereotypes, and promote positive change in the home, workplace, community and country.

Pacific Mini Games kick off on a high note

With a crowd fit for the Olympics and spirits high, the rainy weather was not enough to dampen the excitement of players and spectators.

Rain did nothing to slow down the matches as Fiji claimed the first Pacific Mini Games victory after defeating Tuvalu with a score of 8-0.

A 3-0 win in favour of the Solomon Islands against Tonga proved that the games will only get better and more exciting from that point onwards.

Vanuatu table tennis aims for 7 gold medals

The Table Tennis Interim-President, James Malao, says that for this year’s Mini Games, the final team will be finalized this week, with last weekend’s test event showing how the players have been contributing in their training sessions, attendance, characters and their performance.

“In the meantime, we are having our three para table tennis players, they were the finalist, but for the table tennis, there are going to be eight finalists that will later be announced.

16 Days Activism launched at Van2017 Festival Village

This important occasion was marked at the Festival Village, which was a part of the Van2017 Korman site, and was run in conjunction with the Games Test Event where eight of the 14 sports were on display and testing the venues and infrastructure took place ahead of the December 4 Games opening.

The 16 Days of Activism was launched with a word of prayer followed by official speeches by leaders of the Government and NGOs.