1975 South Pacific Games

1975 South Pacific Games
Host city

Tumon  (main stadium)
Hagåtña  

(swimming)
Country Guam
Nations participating 13
Athletes participating 1,205
Events 16 sports
Opening ceremony August 1, 1975 (1975-08-01)
Closing ceremony August 10, 1975 (1975-08-10)
Officially opened by Ricardo Bordallo[1]
<  1971 Papeete 1979 Suva  >

The 1975 South Pacific Games, held in Guam from 1 to 10 August 1975, was the fifth edition of the South Pacific Games.[2] A total of 1,205 athletes (907 men and 298 women) participated in a rain-affected games which had only one clear day out of the ten scheduled.[3]

The hosting of the event, originally planned for 1974,[4] had met trouble from the start. Carlos Comacho, the Governor of Guam in 1972, had been opposed to spending any government money on the games.[1] With a new Governor in office in late 1973, the games were rescheduled for 1975.[2] However, preparations for the events did not progress smoothly,[5] and visiting teams were disappointed with the condition of some of the venues and the scheduling in the middle of the rainy season.[1][2] The games went ahead despite the logistical problems. Sixteen South Pacific Games records were broken in the track and field athletics events alone.[6]

Participating countries

Thirteen Pacific nations or territories competed at the Games:[7]


Note: A number in parentheses indicate the size of a country's team (where known).

Sports

There were 16 sports contested at the 1975 South Pacific Games:[3][8][9]


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

Medal table

New Caledonia topped the (unofficial) medal count.*

 Rank  Nation Gold Silver Bronze Total
1 New Caledonia373124102
2 French Polynesia27283994
3 Papua New Guinea22251865
4 Fiji13131137
5 Western Samoa94518
6 Guam35513
7 American Samoa34512
8 Tonga† 2 1 1 4
9 Solomon Islands† 1 2 2 5
10 Wallis and Futuna12811
11 New Hebrides1348
12 Trust Territory of Micronesia‡ 0 2 0 2
13 Nauru‡ 0 0 1 1
 Cook Islands § ̶0̶ ̶1̶ ̶4̶ ̶5̶
Totals* 119 120 123 372
  The host country is highlighted in lavender blue

Notes

^* The medal table published on the Pacific Games Council webpage (as at May 2015),[2] does not include medals for Tonga, Solomon Islands, Nauru, or the Trust Territory of Micronesia. The medal columns for these countries have been marked up with a (blue background) in the table above with revised counts. The totals on the right and at the bottom of the table are also amended to account for the changes.

^† Partial totals for Tonga and the Solomons (i.e. their medals won in Athletics)[10] have been added to the table. Until the complete tallies are entered, the true rankings and totals for the 1975 games can not be shown.

^‡ The final medal tally for Micronesia, a silver medal for women's softball and another for men's featherweight weightlifting,[11] has been added. The bronze medal won by Nauru for women's softball,[12] has also been included.

^§ Cook Islands did not attend the 1975 games,[7] but the table on the Sporting Pulse website lists medals as being won by the territory. These have been struck out from the table above in the row with a (grey background).

^a Team sizes were reported in Pacific Island Monthly for many of the countries, including: American Samoa, Fiji. Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, and Wallis and Futuna.

^b Micronesia sent 97 athletes; participants in athletics, basketball, boxing, golf, weightlifting, softball, swimming, table tennis, tennis, underwater fishing, and volleyball.[11]

^c Archery: the men's individual gold medal was won by Dick Smith for PNG.[13]

^d Basketball: Guam's gold medal win by the men's team captained by Tony Susuico was the highlight of the Games for the hosting country.[14] Full results for the men's and women's tournaments are available at FIBA Oceania.[15]

^e Cycling: New Caledonia took 5 of 6 golds, Tahiti the 6th.

^f Sailing: 14ft Laser class. Won by Guam's Phil Drips ahead of Kevin Read (PNG) and Bill Gardiner (Fiji).

^g Four of Tahiti’s medals came from spearfishing. Francis Nanai, Mauri Ateo and Georgia Ateo, gained gold, silver and bronze in the individual competition and also won the team competition. The count and weight of each catch determined the scoring.

^h Weightlifting: medals awarded for total lift in each weight class.[16]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Carter, John (1975). "The Games—Biggest rain-soaked near-disaster in Island history" (PDF 2.4 MB). Pacific Island Monthly. 46 (9): 4–5. Archived (PDF) from the original on 31 October 2013. Retrieved 23 May 2015.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "South Pacific Games 1975 - Guam". Pacific Games Council. 11 October 2010. Archived from the original on 27 July 2012. Retrieved 15 May 2015.
  3. 1 2 Jones, Richard (5 June 2009). "All aboard for the South Pacific Games". The Footy Almanac. Archived from the original on 23 May 2015.
  4. ↑ "Guam out". The Canberra Times. 21 February 1973. Retrieved 23 May 2015.
  5. ↑ "Games in doubt". The Canberra Times. 20 May 1974. Retrieved 23 May 2015.
  6. ↑ "Even the rain couldn't dilute the athletes' spirit". Pacific Islands Monthly. Pacific Publications. 46 (9): 10. 1975. Retrieved 23 May 2015.
  7. 1 2 "Scoreboard". Pacific Islands Monthly. Pacific Publications. 46 (9): 18. 1975. Retrieved 23 May 2015.
  8. ↑ "South Pacific Games results". Pacific Islands Monthly. Pacific Publications. 46 (9): 17. 1975. Archived from the original on 28 October 2015. Retrieved 23 May 2015.
  9. ↑ "South Pacific Games results". Pacific Islands Monthly. Pacific Publications. 46 (9): 18. 1975. Archived from the original on 24 May 2015. Retrieved 23 May 2015.
  10. ↑ South Pacific Games - Tumon, Guam 1975 (PDF), OAA, archived from the original (PDF) on 30 October 2013, retrieved March 30, 2013
  11. 1 2 Rosario, Frank S. (1975). "Micronesia in the South Pacific Games ... an educational beginning - hope for the future". Micronesian Reporter. 23 (3): 32, 34, 36. Archived from the original on 23 May 2015. Retrieved 23 May 2015.
  12. ↑ "Scoreboard (softball)". Pacific Islands Monthly. Pacific Publications. 46 (9): 18. 1975. Retrieved 23 May 2015.
  13. ↑ Jones, Richard (5 June 2009). "Reflections on the ‘75 Guam games". Keith Jackson & Friends: PNG Attitude. Archived from the original on 26 May 2015.
  14. ↑ Pinkston, Jesse (29 January 2013). "Big footprints in Susuico family". Guam Sports Network. Archived from the original on 26 May 2015.
  15. ↑ "5th South Pacific Games" (PDF 0.2 MB). FIBA Oceania. 1975. Archived (PDF) from the original on 1 March 2011.
  16. ↑ SPG Results 1975.

Sources

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