Pacific Games

President Vidya Lakhan and Chief executive Officer Andrew Minogue visited Honiara last week to assess preparations for the 17th Pacific Games.

The delegation visited several of the Games venues, including the main Sports City precinct and the accommodation construction site at the Solomon Islands National University.

They were briefed on the status of works on the main road into the city, the near completion of the new international airport terminal, and the recent "Safe and Green Games" launch.

FBC reports Chef de Mission Ajay Ballu saying these two sports had some issues that could not allow them to be part of the contingent.

In terms of bodybuilding, he said they have a governance issue and did not have an AGM.

And, he added, judo missed the bond payment deadline.

Ballu said all federations had been informed well before time of the regulations and deadlines and they will not be lenient this year.

He confirmed that the nation will be represented by 27 sports at the Honiara Pacific Games that will be held in November and December.

On the men's side, the countries that qualified for the tournament are Guam, New Caledonia, Papua New Guinea, French Polynesia, Fiji, Samoa, and Tonga.

On the women's side Guam, Fiji, Papua New Guinea, The Cook Islands, Solomon Islands, Samoa, French Polynesia and New Caledonia are set to play.

The Pacific Games serves as a qualifying event for the Asian Cup and in turn for the FIBA World Cup.

The Games are scheduled to begin on November 19.

However, Inside the Games reports the Games boss saying there will be no beer sales at the venues.

Solomon Islands 2023 chief executive Peter Stewart said the responsible use of alcohol is an important message that the Games can assist with sending throughout the sporting community.

But SolBrew beer will be used exclusively at Pacific Games VIP and corporate functions, both in the lead-up to and during the Games.

The funding is expected to help visiting athletes with accommodation, sporting equipment and the construction of a temporary venue for open water disciplines.

According to the Inside the Games website this is a counter-balance move against the growing influence of China who have pledge to donate $US21 million to the games.

However, Australian Pacific minister Pat Conroy said Australia is only seeking to help the Solomons and its population.

Yesterday New Zealand Rugby announced all six New Zealand based sides would be relocating to Queenstown this weekend for the first three rounds of the competition with day games being played in Queenstown and night games at Invercargill's Rugby Park.

However, after further discussions between the teams and NZR, it was agreed to move night games to Dunedin's Forsyth Barr stadium which has a roof.

The move will add some extra travel time for the teams playing in Dunedin, as they will have to drive back to their Queenstown bubbles after each match.

The French territory previously staged the multi-sport event in 1971 and 1995, and has staged other major events, including the Beach Soccer World Cup and Va'a World Sprint and Distance Championships in recent years.

French Polynesia bid unsuccessfully to host the Pacific Games in Papeete in both 2019 and 2023, losing out to Tonga and Solomon Islands respectively.

But the Pacific Games Council's General Assembly voted in its favour at the weekend, as it beat out Vanuatu for the right to host the games for a third time.

Fiji Association of Sports and National Olympic Committee CEO, Lorraine Mar confirmed the withdrawal to national sporting federations.

Mar said the association has had to withdraw during the height of the second wave of the pandemic, as it has continued to pose adverse effects in the country.

The dates for the Games have been moved from their original slot of mid to late July 2023, to the two weeks from November 16th to December 2nd 2023.

The Solomons Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare says that in March, the Solomons Pacific Games Association submitted a paper to cabinet for their support to defer the 17th Games.

"The reason for their request is simply that delays forced upon us as the host nation by the Covid-19 pandemic had undermined our ability to complete the construction of all the facilities we require to successfully host the games," he said.

The China Civil Engineering Construction Company (CCECC) was awarded the US$25 million dollar contract earlier this year by the Chinese Government to construct the facilties for the 2023 Pacific Games, which will stretch across 14.95 hectares.

The construction work has been divided into seven projects at the King George VI precinct: the national stadium, tennis center, aquatic center, public catering area, futsal and hockey pitch, multi-purpose hall, and the running track and football field.