Indian Ocean Island Games

Indian Ocean Island Games

Official Logo of the IOIG in 2015
First event 1979 Indian Ocean Island Games
Occur every 4 years (expected)
Last event 2015 Indian Ocean Island Games
Purpose Multi-sport event for islands in the Indian Ocean

The Indian Ocean Island Games (French: Jeux des îles de l'océan Indien) is a multi-sport event held every four years among athletes from Indian Ocean island nations. The Games was created by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in 1977 and currently gather the island nations and territories of Mauritius, Seychelles, Comoros, Madagascar, Mayotte, Réunion and the Maldives.[1] The number of athletes who participate has increased over the years, it went from 1000 athletes in 1979 to over 1500 participants in 2003 and 2007.

Origins

From 1947 until 1963, a precursor called Indian Ocean Games Triangulaire was organized between Madagascar, Mauritius and Réunion. In Madagascar 1963, a football match between Mauritius vs Madagascar was abandoned at 1-1 in 54'. Then Madagascar declared winners of tournament. After this match Mauritius refused to play and the tournament was not held anymore.

In 1974, the Regional Olympic Committee of Réunion decide to organise a multi-sport competition in the Indian Ocean and it was finally adopted by the IOC in 1976. The competition was initially billed as the Indian Ocean Games. However, its name was changed to the Indian Ocean Island Games before the first games, without the participation of Sri Lanka, initially in the bill.

The objectives of the games is to contribute to regional cooperation through the development of sport in the region; build friendship and mutual understanding between the peoples of the islands of the Indian Ocean, in the spirit of Olympism; allow athletes to have every four years, a competition whose interest and level are commensurate with the real sport of the region; and create a regional event whose repercussions will ensure the infrastructure development of countries in the area that lags far behind.

IOIG Editions

Five countries participated in the creation of the Games: Sri Lanka, Seychelles, Mauritius, Comoros and Reunion. They drafted the Charter of the Games. Originally, the Games were to take place every four years, however this frequency was not observed from 1979 to 2003.

Year Edition Date Host Country Host City
1979 I  Réunion Saint Denis, Réunion
1985 II  Mauritius Curepipe
1990 III  Madagascar Antananarivo
1993 IV  Seychelles Victoria
1998 V  Réunion Saint Denis
2003 VI  Mauritius Moka
2007 VII 9 to 19 August  Madagascar Antananarivo
2011 VIII 5 to 14 August  Seychelles Victoria
2015 IX 1 to 8 August  Réunion Saint Denis
2019 X July–August  Mauritius Port Louis

Participating countries

Réunion 1979 Mauritius 1985 Madagascar 1990 Seychelles 1993 Réunion 1998 Mauritius 2003 Madagascar 2007 Seychelles 2011 Réunion 2015 Total
Comoros✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✗8
Madagascar✗✓ ✓✓✓✓✓✓✓8
Maldives✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓9
Mauritius✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓9
Mayotte✗✗✗✗✗✓✓✓✓4
Réunion✓✓✓✓✓✓✓✓9
Seychelles✓ ✓ ✓ ✓✓✓✓✓✓9

Different competitions

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Regional and Sub-regional Games Fonds Sheet" (PDF). Historical Archives, Olympic Studies Center. Comité International Olympique. pp. 37–38. Retrieved 24 January 2017.
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