1979 South Pacific Games

{{Infobox games

| name = 1979 South Pacific Games

| logo = 1979_South_Pacific_Games_logo.png

| size = 189px

| caption =

| host_city = Suva

| country = Fiji

| motto =

| nations = 19

| athletes = 2,672 {{ref|athletes|*}}

| events = 18 sports

| opening = {{Start date|1979|8|28}}

| closing = {{End date|1979|9|8}}

| opened_by =

| athlete_oath =

| judge_oath =

| torch_lighter =

| stadium = National Stadium (Suva)

| previous = 1975 Tamuning

| next = 1983 Apia

}}

The 6th South Pacific Games ({{langx|fj|6 ni Qito ena Ceva ni Pasifika}}), also known as Suva 1979, held in Suva, Fiji from 28 August to 8 September 1979, was the sixth edition of the South Pacific Games.

Participating countries

Nineteen Pacific nations or territories attended:

{{columns-list|colwidth=17em|

{{flag|American Samoa}}
{{flag|Cook Islands}}
{{flag|Fiji}}
{{flag|French Polynesia|1946}}
{{flag|Guam}}
{{flag|Kiribati}}
{{flag|Nauru}}
{{flag|New Caledonia|1853}}
{{flag|New Hebrides|1953}}
{{flag|Niue}}
{{flag|Norfolk Island}}
23px Northern Marianas
{{flag|Papua New Guinea}}
{{flag|Solomon Islands}}
{{flagdeco|New Zealand}} Tokelau
{{flag|Tonga}}
{{flag|Tuvalu}}
23px Wallis and Futuna
{{flag|Western Samoa}}

}}

Sports

There were 18 sports contested at the 1979 South Pacific Games:{{ref|sports|†}}

{{columns-list|colwidth=17em|

{{GamesSport|Athletics |Events= 37}}
{{GamesSport|Basketball |Events=2 |Format=m}}
{{GamesSport|Boxing |Events=11 |Format=m}}
{{GamesSport|Cricket |Events= 1 |Format=m}}
{{GamesSport|Field Hockey |Events= 1 |Format=m}}
{{GamesSport|Football |Events= 1 }}
{{GamesSport|Golf |Events= 4 |Format=m}}
{{GamesSport|Judo |Events= 9 |Format=m}}
{{GamesSport|Lawn bowls |Events= 8 |Format=m}}
{{GamesSport|Netball |Events= 1}}{{ref|netball|a}}
{{GamesSport|Rugby union |Events= 1 }}
{{GamesSport|Sailing |Events= 1 |Format=m}}
{{GamesSport|Squash |Events= 2 |Format=m}}
{{GamesSport|Swimming |Events= 24}} {{ref|swimming|b}}
{{GamesSport|Table tennis |Events= 7 |Format=m}}{{ref|table tennis|c}}
{{GamesSport|Tennis |Events= 7 |Format=m}}
{{GamesSport|Volleyball |Events= 2 |Format=m}}
{{GamesSport|Weightlifting |Events= 10|Format=m}}{{ref|weightlifting|d}}

}}

Note: A number in parentheses indicates how many medal events were contested in that sport (where known).

Medal Table

New Caledonia topped the table again:

{{Medals table

| caption =

| host = FIJ

| flag_template =

| event =

| team =

| gold_NCL = 33 | silver_NCL = 43 | bronze_NCL = 26 | name_NCL = {{flagteam|NCL|1853}}

| gold_PYF = 31 | silver_PYF = 19 | bronze_PYF = 29 | name_PYF = {{flagteam|PYF|1946}}

| gold_FIJ = 22 | silver_FIJ = 16 | bronze_FIJ = 24 | host_FIJ = yes

| gold_PNG = 16 | silver_PNG = 19 | bronze_PNG = 21

| gold_GUM = 11 | silver_GUM = 7 | bronze_GUM = 9

| gold_WSM = 10 | silver_WSM = 11 | bronze_WSM = 6

| gold_ASA = 4 | silver_ASA = 1 | bronze_ASA = 7

| gold_TON = 1 | silver_TON = 5 | bronze_TON = 3

| gold_COK = 1 | silver_COK = 2 | bronze_COK = 3

| gold_AAA = 0 | silver_AAA = 4 | bronze_AAA = 4 | name_AAA = {{flagteam|New Hebrides|1953}}

| gold_NFK = 0 | silver_NFK = 1 | bronze_NFK = 3

| gold_BBB = 0 | silver_BBB = 1 | bronze_BBB = 2 | name_BBB = 23px Wallis and Futuna

| gold_SOL = 0 | silver_SOL = 0 | bronze_SOL = 5

| gold_KIR = 0 | silver_KIR = 0 | bronze_KIR = 0

| gold_NRU = 0 | silver_NRU = 0 | bronze_NRU = 0

| gold_NIU = 0 | silver_NIU = 0 | bronze_NIU = 0

| gold_CCC = 0 | silver_CCC = 0 | bronze_CCC = 0 | name_CCC = 23px Northern Marianas (NMI)

| gold_TOK = 0 | silver_TOK = 0 | bronze_TOK = 0 | name_TOK = {{flagdeco|NZL}} Tokelau (TOK)

| gold_TUV = 0 | silver_TUV = 0 | bronze_TUV = 0

}}

Notes

{{note|athletes|*}} For the 1979 Games, 19 countries and a projected 2,672 athletes took part.

{{note|sports|†}} Eighteen sports as reported in Pacific Islands Monthly.{{sfn|PIM|1979 (10)|pages=18–19}} The newly introduced sports were: cricket, hockey, lawn bowls, and squash.

{{note|netball|a}} Netball: In Pacific Islands Monthly (PIM), it was reported that "Papua New Guinea took the bronze" in the 1979 netball competition, behind Fiji and Cook Islands.{{sfn||PIM|1979 (10)|loc= 15, § Netball}} However, a few pages later in PIM's results for the netball, Tonga is listed as finishing in third place.{{sfn||PIM|1979 (10)|page=19}}

{{note|swimming|b}} Swimming: There were either 24 or 23 events on the programme, depending on whether the men's 4 × 200 m freestyle relay was contested and officially included in the medals. A publication from Guam's Political Status Education Coordinating Commission claims that Guam swimmer Hollis Kimbrough, "won a record seven medals in the '79 SPG alone", and as such, the Pacific Islands Monthly results could be incomplete as only four medals are listed for Kimbrough there plus two men's relay medals for Guam – and the men's 4 × 200 is omitted.{{sfn|PIM|1979 (10)|page=18}}

{{note|table tennis|c}} Table tennis: There were seven events on the programme (or perhaps only six or five, depending on whether the respective team competitions for men and women were played and medals officially awarded). The five events for table tennis in the list of results from the November 1979 issue of Pacific Islands Monthly (PIM) are the mixed doubles, men's and women's singles and doubles.{{sfn||PIM|1979 (10)|page=19}} PIM reported earlier in the same issue that Fiji had won the women's team event (as well as the women's doubles),{{sfn||PIM|1979 (10)|loc= 16, § Table Tennis}} but neither women's or men's team events appear in the PIM results.

{{note|weightlifting|d}} Weightlifting: Ten men's weight divisions were contested, with one medal event only per division (for the maximum total lift of snatch + clean-and-jerk).{{sfn||PIM|1979 (10)|page=19}}

References

{{reflist|colwidth=25em|refs=

{{cite web

|date=2 February 2007

|title=South Pacific Games 1979

|publisher=Pacific Games Council

|accessdate=15 May 2015

|url=http://www.sportingpulse.com/assoc_page.cgi?client=2-2642-0-0-0&sID=24032&&news_task=DETAIL&articleID=68546

|url-status=live

|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150418072854/http://www.sportingpulse.com/assoc_page.cgi?client=2-2642-0-0-0&sID=24032&&news_task=DETAIL&articleID=68546

|archivedate=18 April 2015

}}

{{cite web

|date= 9 October 2009

|title= ...that in 1978 Squash was included for the FIRST time

|publisher= Squash Fiji

|accessdate= 15 May 2015

|url= http://www.foxsportspulse.com/assoc_page.cgi?client=2-1627-0-0-0&sID=61202&&news_task=DETAIL&articleID=5119849

}}

{{cite web

|date=9 October 2009

|title=Opening ceremony torch carriers

|publisher=Pacific Mini Games Cook Islands 2009

|accessdate=15 May 2015

|url=http://www.sportingpulse.com/assoc_page.cgi?client=0-4592-0-0-0&sID=53098&&news_task=DETAIL&articleID=10230858

|url-status=live

|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150528212001/http://www.sportingpulse.com/assoc_page.cgi?client=0-4592-0-0-0&sID=53098&&news_task=DETAIL&articleID=10230858

|archivedate=28 May 2015

}}

{{cite web

|date=8 March 2007

|title=The History of Cricket in Vanuatu

|publisher=Vanuatu Cricket

|accessdate=28 May 2015

|url=http://vanuatucricket.wix.com/association#!history/c14cn

|url-status=dead

|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150505055513/http://vanuatucricket.wix.com/association#!history/c14cn

|archivedate=5 May 2015

}}

{{cite news

|date = 27 May 2015

|first = Carlos

|last = Aruafu

|title = Oceania proud of our hockey

|work = Solomon Star

|accessdate = 23 June 2015

|url = http://solomonstarnews.com/sports/national/7124-oceania-proud-of-our-hockey

|url-status = dead

|archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20150623041502/http://solomonstarnews.com/sports/national/7124-oceania-proud-of-our-hockey

|archivedate = 2015-06-23

}}

{{cite journal

|date= 1979

|title= South Pacific Games results

|journal= Pacific Islands Monthly |volume=50 |issue=10|at= p. 137 (The Medal Winners)

|publisher= Pacific Publications

|accessdate= 25 June 2015

|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=QFh0AAAAMAAJ}}

{{cite report

|date= 2003

|title= I manfåyi, Who's who in Chamorro history, Volume 3

|publisher= Political Status Education Coordinating Commission (Guam)

|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=5ekMAQAAMAAJ

|accessdate= 5 November 2015}}

}}

Sources

{{cite journal

|year=1979

|journal=Pacific Islands Monthly

|volume=50

|issue=10

|title=Last of the Super Games/The Medal Winners

|accessdate=5 November 2015

|format=PDF 0.8 MB

|url=https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/vogzwrky2jwi057/1979%20PIM%20v50%20i10%20pp.9-12%20%26%2015-19%20Last%20of%20the%20Super%20Games.pdf?dl=0

|ref={{harvid|PIM|1979 (10)}}

|url-status=dead

|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160704083018/https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/vogzwrky2jwi057/1979%20PIM%20v50%20i10%20pp.9-12%20%26%2015-19%20Last%20of%20the%20Super%20Games.pdf?dl=0

|archivedate=4 July 2016

}}