1963 South Pacific Games

The 1963 South Pacific Games, held from 29 August to 9 September 1963 at Suva in Fiji, was the first edition of the South Pacific Games. The multisport games were established to engender bonds of friendship amongst peoples in the Pacific, after an idea originated by Dr A.H. Sahu Khan was adopted by the South Pacific Commission. At a meeting of nine Territories, held in Nouméa during March 1961, Fiji was awarded the honour of hosting the very first Games.[2]

1963 South Pacific Games
Host citySuva
CountryFiji
Nations participating13
Athletes participating646
Events10 sports
58 medal events
Opening ceremony29 August
Closing ceremony8 September
Officially opened bySir Kenneth Maddocks,[1]
Governor of Fiji

Participating countries

Thirteen Pacific nations or territories, and 646 competitors, participated in the Games:[3][4]


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

Sports

Ten sports were contested at the 1963 South Pacific Games:[6][7][8]


Note: Numbers in parentheses indicate the number of medal events contested in each sport (where known).

Final medal table

The home nation, Fiji, easily topped the (unofficial) medal tally:†

Rank Nation Gold Silver Bronze Total
1 Fiji   33 ‡ 23   26 §   82†
2 Papua and New Guinea 9   11 ‡ 11   31†
3 New Caledonia791127
4 French Polynesia42410
5 Tonga2428
6 American Samoa 1 2   3 § 7†
7 Cook Islands2305
8 Western Samoa0123
9 Gilbert and Ellice Islands 0 1 1 2
10 New Hebrides0101
Totals†   58†   57†   60†   175†
  The host country is highlighted in lavender blue
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See also

Notes

^* The Games official report listed the PNG contingent at 86 (78 competitors and 8 officials),[3] although the Canberra Times reported a team of 93 (competitors and officials).[9]

^† The medal table published on the Pacific Games Council webpage (as at May 2015),[6] counts four extra medals (two for Fiji and one each for PNG and American Samoa) that were not actually awarded according to the Official Report and Results published in 1963.[10] The medal columns for these countries have been marked up with a (blue background) in the table above with those counts revised down. The totals on the right and at the bottom of the table are also amended to account for this change.

^‡ The swimming medal totals for Fiji and PNG have been amended to exclude the unofficial 3 × 110 yd medley relay for women for which medals were not awarded, although Fiji and PNG finished first and second respectively.[11]

^§ The boxing medal totals for American Samoa and Fiji have been amended to exclude two semifinalists who were disqualified in their respective semifinal bouts and, as such, did not receive a bronze medal; S. Tinoe from American Samoa in the featherweight class, and M. Delai from Fiji in the light-heavyweight class.[12]

^a Track and field athletics: There were 29 events in total; 19 for men and 10 for women. In the women's 4 x 100 metres relay, only a gold medal was awarded (to Fiji). The remaining teams were disqualified.[13]

^b The game of "women's basketball" in the early 1960s often referred to the sport now known as netball. A recap of the 1963 results published in the Pacific Islands Monthly in 1969 does not mention netball but records that Fiji won the women's basketball competition.[7] The official FIBA basketball record indicates that only a men's competition was held in 1963.[14] A summary of the SPG netball competitions as reported by Islands Business in 1990 shows that Fiji won the netball title in 1963.[15]

^c Boxing: Although there were ten weight divisions, medals were only awarded in eight of them. Fiji made the only nominations in the flyweight and heavyweight classes and had put two boxers in each division to ensure a contest. J. Roba and M. Mate in the flyweight, and V. Dikidikiliti and P. Kali in the heavyweight, were awarded silver cups in lieu of medals.[12]

^d Tennis and table tennis were contested as mixed team sports on a knock-out basis, with each sport having only one gold medal awarded.[7]

^e Volleyball was held as a men's competition only.[7]

References
  1. SPG Results 1963, p. 74.
  2. History. Pacific Games Council Official Website.
  3. SPG Results 1963, p. 90.
  4. "Problems at Pacific Games". The Canberra Times. 25 September 1963. Retrieved 15 May 2015.
  5. "Athlete from Nauru". The Canberra Times. 25 September 1963. Retrieved 15 May 2015.
  6. "South Pacific Games 1963 - Fiji". Pacific Games Council. 11 October 2010. Archived from the original on 27 July 2012. Retrieved 15 May 2015.
  7. "South Pacific Games results 1963 and 1966". Pacific Islands Monthly. Pacific Publications. 40 (2): 31–32. 1969. Archived from the original on 14 July 2015. Retrieved 14 July 2015.
  8. SPG Results 1963, p. 10.
  9. "PNG is sending a team to Suva for the South Pacific Games". The Canberra Times. 2 August 1963. Retrieved 17 May 2015.
  10. SPG Results 1963.
  11. SPG Results 1963, p. 48–53.
  12. SPG Results 1963, p. 35–39.
  13. SPG Results 1963, p. 26–27.
  14. "Results Booklet" (PDF 0.9 MB). FIBA Oceania. 30 September 2011. Archived from the original on 11 October 2014.
  15. "Matenga shoots for gold". Islands Business. News (South Pacific) Limited. 16: 63. 1990. Retrieved 29 May 2015.

Sources
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