Mini Pacific Games 2009 Rarotonga Cook Islands

21ST SEPTEMBER TO 2ND OCTOBER, 2009

It's the biggest event in the Cook Islands for 24 years with teams from 22 countries all over the Pacific region descending on Rarotonga to take part! And it promises to be not only a spectacle of sport, but a huge celebration of Cook Islands life. So if you're planning a visit to the Islands in 2009, here's a once in a lifetime opportunity to make that trip even more special.

CONCH SHELLS, COSTUME AND NOSE FLUTES SAY "KIA ORANA"

When the games open on Monday, 21st of September, 2009 teams from the competing nations will be led in to a brand new sports stadium in Rarotonga by colourfully dressed locals from across all of the Cook Islands. A traditional challenge will be voiced by a local taunga (island chief) as the teams enter.

And there will be plenty of singing, dancing and drumming because the Island "chaperones" will be teams from the Cook Islands annual cultural competition, Te Maeva Nui. That fiercely competed event has been moved this year to the preceding week of the Games so that as many Islanders as possible can enjoy and play a part in the sporting spectacular.

More than a thousand nose flutes are being crafted, although it's not clear yet when and how they will play a part in the ceremonies...but they will!

And so too will the ancient, haunting sound of conch shells being blown. They'll be used in the opening ceremony and to call winning competitors in the Games to the podium to receive their medals.

COMPETING NATIONS

Marshall Islands Kiribati (including Gilbert and Ellis Islands) Niue Cook Islands Guam Micronesia American Samoa Norfolk Island Palau Northern Mariana Islands Solomon Islands Tokelau Tonga Tuvalu Wallis and Futuna Fiji French Polynesia Nauru New Caledonia Papua New Guinea Samoa Vanuatu (including New Hebrides)

THE SPORTING SPECTACLE

Teams will participate in 14 different sports: athletics, boxing, golf, lawn bowls, netball, rugby 7s, rugby league, sailing, squash, table tennis, tennis, touch, triathlon, Va'a (canoeing), and weightlifting.

The host country team is likely to feature athletes such as Gordon Heather (pictured left) who is the fastest man in the Cook Islands. He can cover 100 metres in just over 11 seconds, as he proved at the Beijing Olympics. And 19 year old Sam Pera Jnr (right) is the Islands' leading weightlifter with Olympic and Commonwealth Games experience behind him.

PURPOSE BUILT STADIUM

Today a huge piece of land at Nikao on Rarotonga is a construction site, but in months it will be home to a huge, purpose built indoor sports stadium...albeit a controverial one because of the amount of money being spent and where that money's coming from. The first sod was cut (left) and the foundation stone laid on 23 September, 2008 after months of argument about the funding. The Chinese government is providing a low cost loan of almost NZ$14 million (approx. UK£5m, US$7/4m, 5.8m Euros) to the Cook Islands government to pay for the building.

And this is an artist's impression of what the stadium will look like when it's finished. The target date for completion is the end of June. It'll be used first for the world youth netball championships in July.

CONTROVERSY OVER COSTS AND CORAL

The cost of staging the games is spiralling, and islanders are going to have to pick up the bill. The Government minister responsible for the event, Wilkie Rasmussen says another NZ$6 million (UK£2.33m, US$3.43m, 2.59m Euros) will be needed, bringing the total bill to NZ$9 (UK£3.5m, US$5.14m, 3.88m Euros) . That's three times the original estimate.

Meanwhile, there's growing controversy over a request from the Cook Islands Canoeing Association to remove coral from Muri lagoon on Rarotonga... probably the most photographed spot in the whole of the Islands (right). The Association say it would be an obstacle to the course they need to build. But environmentalists and island residents are concerned about the potential effects on the lagoon and its marine life.

FIND OUT MORE

This page will be updated regularly with the latest information about the Pacific Games 2009.

The official website for the games is being revamped. It's not worth visiting at the moment as there have been no updates for weeks, so this page is the most complete and up to date information available on the internet.