Oceania

Coffa was inducted at a Special Congress of the International Weightlifting Federation held in Bogota Colombia this week.

He is the first person ever to be inducted to the IWF Hall of Fame for outstanding achievement in the field of coaching and his record is truly remarkable.

In a career spanning 57 years, Paul Coffa has

SWA President, Tuaopepe Jerry Wallwork said he is proud of his team's achievements but it does not stop there as they will continue on with their training. 

"There is a lot of uncertainties right now, but we are still training as always. The team is well prepared if ever they'll go to the Tokyo Olympics," he added.

"Right now, everything is an 'if' due to border restrictions and also there are a lot of uncertainties."

Samoan top weightlifter, Done Opeloge continues to impress his trainers with his achievements.

The regional team failed to win a match in their first appearance in 18 years after being swept 3-0 by China, Indonesia and South Korea to finish bottom of Pool B, consigning them to automatic relegation back to Group Two in 2020.

Team Captain Gilles De Gouy said the players failed to take their chances against more experienced opposition.

The Pearls made it two wins from two at the Oceania qualifiers, joining Samoa atop the competition standings.

Prior to this week Fiji had not won a match at international level since 2015 and coach Vicki Wilson said the confidence a win brings to a team is amazing.

"I'm up here on the 11th floor as we do this interview and the girls are down on the second floor and I can hear them screaming and yelling," she said.

"They're very thrilled with the way they played and so they should be - it's been a tough road.

The head of the secretariat, Seve Paeniu, said it believed this stems from a significant increase in production in China, driven by demand for the drug in Australia and New Zealand.

Mr Paeniu said countries in Micronesia and Melanesia were also experiencing an increase in the use of methamphetamines, with a resulting rise in criminal acitivity and accompanying societal issues.

He said efforts to combat the trend had uncovered both local and foreign involvement in the illegal trade alongside the increase in criminals being deported in the region.

Team Head Coach Peta Teo was pleased with their first day's efforts.

The Women's team had a win and a loss while the men had a loss to Australia Country.

Both teams faced tough draws first up playing against Australia Country.

The Women lost 10--2 while the Men lost 13-1. However, both teams were competitive and learnt a lot from the matches, especially how to utilise the boards to clear from defence. This was very evident when Samoa women played their second game against Pacific neighbours Tonga.

It was announced at the recent 2016 FINA World Aquatics Convention in Windsor, Canada by FINA President Julio Maglione.

“We need to work together to make the world a better place. With this in mind, we are committed to providing free programmes to help reduce death by drowning and increase access to the sport worldwide. It is crucial that we continue to address the World Health Organisation’s alarming statistics warning that drowning is a serious and neglected global health issue.”

The stakes are higher than ever this year, with the 17th edition of the competition being the first to offer two OFC nations berths in the FIFA youth tournament.

The 2015 edition’s runners-up Tahiti will host preliminary champions Samoa, Papua New Guinea, Fiji, New Caledonia, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and five-time consecutive champions, New Zealand, in Papeete for the 24 matches.

The excitement is set to play out in two locations – Stade Mahina for Group A and Stade Pater for Group B – with the latter also gearing up to host the final.

 The Baby Black Pearls prevailed 42-37 and Coach John Glassie said, with five countries vying for three spots in Botswana next year, it sets them up well for the rest of the tournament.

"They're older and a little bit more mature so we knew we were going in for a tough game. If we win two out of the next three games that potentially puts us in the top two, which is where we want to finish - that automatic qualifier," he said.

RNZ reports Fiji, Samoa, Tonga and Papua New Guinea each had two athletes competing at the Rio Paralympics earlier this month.

The President of the Oceania Paralympic Committee, Paul Bird, said the performance of the Pacific's newest athletes was an encouraging sign for the future.

He said currently most athletes receive wildcards to compete at the Paralympics but they want to see more Pacific representatives qualifying on merit.