1975 South Pacific Games

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]

1975 South Pacific Games
Host cityTumon  (main stadium)
Hagåtña  (swimming)
CountryGuam
Nations participating13
Athletes participating1,205
Events16 sports
Opening ceremonyAugust 1, 1975 (1975-08-01)
Closing ceremonyAugust 10, 1975 (1975-08-10)
Officially opened byRicardo Bordallo[1]

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]

Guam's basketball gold medal win by the men's team captained by Tony Susuico was the highlight of the Games for the hosting country.[7]

Participating countries

Thirteen Pacific nations or territories competed at the Games:[8]


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

Sports

There were 16 sports contested at the 1975 South Pacific Games:[3][9][10]


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.

  *   Guam (host)

RankNationGoldSilverBronzeTotal
1 New Caledonia373134102
2 French Polynesia27283994
3 Papua New Guinea22251865
4 Fiji13131137
5 Western Samoa94518
6 Guam*35513
7 American Samoa34512
8 Tonga2114
9 New Hebrides1348
10 Wallis and Futuna12811
11 Solomon Islands1236
12 Trust Territory of Micronesia0202
13 Nauru0011
Totals (13 nations)119120134373
Source: PIM d

Notes

^a Team sizes were reported before the Games for several countries including: American Samoa,[11] New Hebrides,[11] and Papua New Guinea.[12]

^b Micronesia sent 97 athletes, with participants in athletics, basketball, boxing, golf, weightlifting, softball, swimming, table tennis, tennis, underwater fishing, and volleyball.[13]

^c Weightlifting: medals were awarded only for total lift in each weight class.[14]

^d The medal table as reported in Pacific Islands Monthly at the conclusion of the Games [8] is used as the source here. An incomplete medal tally was published on the official Pacific Games Council webpage (as at May 2015).[15] That tally did not include medals won by Tonga, Solomon Islands, Nauru, or the Trust Territory of Micronesia, but did list medals as being won by Cook Islands who did not attend the Games in 1975.[8]

References
  1. Carter, John (1975). "The Games—Biggest rain-soaked near-disaster in Island history" (PDF). Pacific Island Monthly. 46 (9): 4–5. Archived from the original (PDF 2.4 MB) on 2013-10-31. Retrieved 23 May 2015.
  2. "South Pacific Games 1975 - Guam". Pacific Games Council. 11 October 2010. Archived from the original on 27 July 2012. Retrieved 15 May 2015.
  3. 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. Pinkston, Jesse (29 January 2013). "Big footprints in Susuico family". Guam Sports Network. Archived from the original on 26 May 2015.
  8. "Scoreboard at a glance". Pacific Islands Monthly. Pacific Publications. 46 (9): 18. 1975. Retrieved 23 May 2015.
  9. "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.
  10. "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.
  11. "Guam officials squabble as the islands tune up for the games". Pacific Islands Monthly. Pacific Publications. 46 (5): 11–12. 1975.
  12. "PNG official forecasts big success for the Guam Games". Pacific Islands Monthly. Pacific Publications. 46 (6): 7. 1975.
  13. 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 7 March 2020. Retrieved 23 May 2015.
  14. SPG Results 1975.
  15. "South Pacific Games 1975 - Guam". Pacific Games Council. 11 October 2010. Archived from the original on 27 July 2012. Retrieved 15 May 2015.

Sources
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