New indoor stadium for 2009 Mini Games

Construction of a new indoor stadium to be used for the 2009 Mini South Pacific Games in Rarotonga, Cook Islands has started last week and is expected to be completed in June next year.

According to the Mini Games website, excavation and site clearance were done last week as part of the initial stage of the construction of the stadium located at Tereora, which also housed the National Stadium and the track and field facility.

“The much awaited signs of construction works to begin at Tereora for the Cook Islands indoor sports stadium was a welcome sight for sports enthusiasts and organizers,” said John Strickland, managing supervisor of the project.

Strickland is aiming to finish the construction in June or three months before the Mini Games kick off because the indoor stadium will also be used for the World Youth Netball Competition, which is set for July next year.

The construction of a new indoor stadium was proposed late last year, but it was only last month that the government approved the $13-million loan for the project. Of the $13-milion fund, $6 million will go to local contractors.

Next year’s Mini Games lined up only 15 events due to lack of facilities. The Cook Islands have only two main sports facilities, namely the Tereora National Staidum and the Raemaru Sports Ground.

The calendar of events for the 2009 Mini Games include athletics, boxing, body building, golf, lawn bowls, netball, rugby 7’s, rugby league, sailing, squash, table tennis, touch, triathlon, canoeing, and weightlifting.

With the lack of facilities, the organizing committee early this month has initiated proceedings to identify and secure training venues around the islands for teams joining next yea’s Mini Games.

Training venues are mostly sports fields or rugby fields located in either village sports association or schools.

Organizers said consultations and approval for the usage of the facilities have to be made at this early to avoid scheduling problems once the participating teams arrive.

Next year’s Mini Games will run from Sept. 21 to Oct. 2 with 20 island-nations had already committed to send delegates.

The Cook Islands will be hosting athletes and officials from Samoa, American Samoa, Guam, the Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, New Caledonia,Niue, the Norfolk Islands, Palau, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tahiti, Tokelau, Tonga, Vanuatu, and Wallis and Futuna.

The Marshall Islands and Tuvalu have yet to commit to the Mini Games, while the NMI was included on the list of committed PGAs released by organizers in March with entries in sailing and golf.

With only golf, athletics, and sailing showing an intention to go to the Cook Islands, it is unlikely that the NMI will surpass or even duplicate its feat in the 2005 edition of the Games in Palau.

The NMI Team grabbed 23 medals in Palau, getting four gold medals, 12 silver and seven bronze. Swimming gave the NMI the most medals with 19. Triathlon claimed two gold medals and one bronze, while the table tennis men’s team had one bronze.

New Caledonia ruled the 2005 Mini Games with its 56-29-25 tally, followed by Fiji (23- 21-16) and Nauru (18-0-0).

All 22 member-islands of the Pacific Games Council participated in the 2005 Mini Games.

The 2009 edition of the Mini Games will be the second time that the Cook Islands is hosting the similar event. The quadrennial Games were held first in Rarotonga in 1985.

Honiara in Solomon Islands hosted the inaugural Mini Games in 1982 with 15 island-nationals joining the event.

After the Cook Islands, Tonga hosted the Mini Games in 1989, Vanuatu in 1993, American Samoa in 1997 and the Norfolk Islands in 2001. [B][I](Roselyn B. Monroyo)[/I][/B]