2007 South Pacific Games, Apia, Samoa

The Opening Ceremony

Apia, Samoa -- Saturday, August 25, 2007 kicked-off the start of the XIII South Pacific Games with the official Games Opening Ceremony at Apia Park. Twenty-two countries marched onto the field and will compete in thirty-three different sports. Samoa has the hometown advantage by entering 600+ athletes and competing in every sport. Mana is the official mascot; a manumea and chosen to raise awareness because it is an endangered bird indigenous to Samoa. The sold out stadium was full of excitement, high-energy, and pride, still much was done away from the public’s eye.

First, behind the scenes, the government of Samoa is planning to award their athletes, who win gold, a cash bonus. This offering is a definite incentive to ensure success.

Second, the government of New Caledonia takes extra care that their athletes are receiving the best training. The athletes are training and competing in countries throughout Europe during the year and it has paid off; it is only day four of the Games and New Caledonia is out in front with a total of 75 medals, Fiji is second with 47 and Samoa third with 35.

Third, the Solomon Islands have just been added to the bodybuilding roster of athletes. The Solomon Islands Bodybuilding Association was formed February 2007 and elected Fred Osifelo as President and Alfred Hanes as Coach. Unlike the men, the women have only started training this February. It should be interesting to observe how these athletes respond to their very first day on a stage.

Fourth, an abundance of hands are working 24-hours to ensure that the Games are successful and will run smooth, unfortunately, it was not enough. Event signs, banners, and buildings were not marked until the third day of the Games. In order to find an event, one had to travel from building to building and several volunteer workers were not even privy to the events located next door.

All-in-all, the athletes seem well prepared to compete, the crowd chants and screams at each event, and the excitement will not end until Saturday, September 8, 2007. In the end, all is pulling together for every day that passes, a definite plus – way to go Samoa for all of your efforts!

Ben Saqata

Bodybuilding - Behind the Scenes, a Sneak Peek

Apia, Samoa – 5 p.m., in one of only two small gyms located in Apia, the bodybuilders from the Solomon Islands and Fiji were working out and posing for their upcoming on-stage performance. Some were well seasoned and some were not; it is the first competition ever for the Solomon Islands and they were allowed to compete in the Games without any type of pre-qualifying competition.

The Solomon Islands commenced their first ever bodybuilding association this February 2007. The Solomon Island Bodybuilding Association President is Mr. Fred Osifelo and the Coach is Mr. Alfred Hanes. All women began their training in February, this year, and all of the men have been training prior to this time. In bodybuilding a warm-up competition is always a good recommendation for an athlete competing in an upcoming big event.

Practicing in the gym from the Solomon Islands were the two women: Jean Kinny competing in the 52 kg. class and Laisani Laore in the 57 kg. class. The men posing were Amos Sui, 85 kg, John Medo, 75 kg., Francis Idu, 80 kg., and Godwin Rikimae, 70 kg.

Helpful and unselfish, Ben Saqata, a 90kg. competitor, was helping to guide the athletes, from the Solomon Islands, on their posing. Saqata is a seasoned veteran competing in his second South Pacific Games, second South Pacific Mini Games, and second Oceania Bodybuilding Tournament. He holds the title of Mr. Fiji, 2001-2006, and will be defending his title of Mr. Suva in October 2007 and Mr. West in December 2007.

Ben Saqata has been training for about eight years and attributes his success to discipline, as the main element, and also hard work and good nutrition. When Saqata is not training in the gym, he is spending his free time in the gym. A lot of hours and a lifestyle all its own, the bodybuilder’s life does not end when the workout ends, it continues twenty-four, seven.

In contrast to the bodybuilders from the United States and other part of the world, none of the seven bodybuilders in the gym were willing to show their abs and had a difficult time even rolling up their sleeves to pose for pictures. It will be interesting to see how they perform on stage on Friday, August 31, 2007 while wearing nothing more than their posing suits. Time tells all things and experience comes, however this is one sport where the aggressive survive and the rest follow blindly, make mistakes and if they stay with it long enough, learn along the way.

Bodybuilding - the Show

Apia, Samoa -- The 2007 South Pacific Games commenced their bodybuilding competition with all the bells and whistles of a quality event. All done to music, the athletes made their presentation by marching into the venue carrying their flags, acknowledging the crowd and taking their place on the stage. A spectacular display even before the bodybuilding battle began.

Beginning with the prejudging, almost all the athletes were in true form. As expected, the women of the Solomon Islands, who are still novices to the sport, did a basic posing routine and did not place at the night show. With their first time competing in a competition of this magnitude, they will definitely learn a lot and with their positive and extremely personably attitude, no doubt, will go a long way in the years to come.

Ready for the show were the women of Samoa and Guam, who are here today in top shape. Their physiques are proportional and have great definition. Their posing routines are so jaw-droppingly good that they have the crowd cheering and others on their feet applauding.

Following the prejudging, it was surprising to see so many athletes drinking cans of soda. Others were just eating just a salad at a local restaurant, following the prejudging. In this part of the world, there appears to be a lack of knowledge in proper nutrition.

During the night show, the Samoan Government not only gave the competitors families an entrance into the venue, free-of-charge, but also gave them all front-of-the-house seat, next to the media.

It is a clear-cut and well-called placing for the Men’s 90 kg class with Muni Moeleana winning from New Caledonia, Faleupolu placing second from Samoa, and Talia’uli Vaka, third from Tonga. On the other hand, the placing for the Women’s 57+ kg class was quite confusing. June Mair placing first from Guam, Debra Wilson, second from Samoa, and Maima Ah Sha, third from Tahiti. Without a doubt the placing should have included Tauvale Fala of Samoa in the top three, not Maima Ah Sha. Maima Ah Sha would not have placed at a local show in the United States because she was carrying a lot of extra weight and without definition. A few more months of training would have been beneficial before competing in this large event.

The show’s overall women’s winner was Eleanor Cockburn of Samoa, 52 kg class and the men’s overall winner was Tony Ligaliga of Samoa, 80 kg class.

It is the largest bodybuilding participation ever for the South Pacific Games for this completely sold out event. Bodybuilding is becoming a growing and a popular sport for the Islands, with more and more teams entering for each of the Games occuring every four years. Overall, it is a great display of sportsmanship with an overwhelming support from the Motherland Samoa for 2007.

Rugby 7's

Apia Park, Samoa -- Friday afternoon on August 31, 2007 the Rugby 7’s Game was between Samoa and Tokelau. On the field, Samoa had an incredible combination of speed, agility, and endurance. Tokelau was just unable to advance against Samoa when they had control of the ball. They passed it, ran with it, and then were tackled by 4 to 5 Samoans. The ball was then captured by the Samoans, who ran with it, scoring yet another touchdown.

Tokelau was outmatched. The end score was 48 – Samoa, Tokelau - 0. Still good sportsmen, Tokelau ran off the field, approached the stands with their arms raised high, waving at the spectators with thanks.

Weightlifting

Apia, Samoa – At 10 am, the weightlifting competition kicked-off in the Faleata Sports Complex. The first flight began with a total of six lifters with three in the 48 kg. class and three in the 53 kg. class. Weightlifting is comprised of two lifts; the first is the snatch and the second is the clean and jerk. Power was on the platform and all the ladies were composed and true fighters on every single lift.

Unlike powerlifting, the lifts are not done by each lifter attempting their first lifts for each scheduled flight, followed by the second and then the third and final lift. The weightlifting at the South Pacific Games, for each event, is conducted sequentially by the kilogram weight lifted; therefore a lifter can do all three of their attempts without anyone going after them. A two-minute time period is given between a competitor’s lifts.

In the 48 kg. class was Suzanne Hiram of Nauru, Utako Aliklik of Nauru, and Kathleen Hare of Papau New Guinea. The lifts were as follows:

		Snatch			Clean	and	Jerk
Lifter	Body weight	1^st Lift	2^nd Lift	3^rd Lift	1^st Lift	2^nd Lift	3^rd Lift	Totals	Placing
Suzanne Hiram	47.9 kg.	63 kg.	68 kg.	72 kg. (no lift)	80 kg.	84 kg. SPG Record*	87 kg. (no lift)	152 kg.	1^st
Kathleen Harel	47.19 kg.	53 kg. (no lift)	53 kg.	60 kg.	73 kg.	78 kg.	81 kg. (no lift)	131 kg.	2^nd
Utako Aliklik	47.81 kg.	45 kg.	50 kg.	51 kg.	65 kg.	67 kg.	72 kg.	123 kg.	3rd

It was notable to mention that Kathleen Hare of Papua New Guinea sits so deep in the clean and jerk that she touches her heels at the lowest point of the lift. Hare performed

all four lifts consecutively in the clean and jerk and received a two-minute rest in between each lift. Her lifts were 73 kg., 78 kg., 80 kg., which was a good lift but a possible misload, however a good attempt, and then 81 kg., which was unsuccessful. The lifters each received individual and overall medals respectfully and each individual medal was received by the same overall competitor.

In the 53 kg. class was Dika Toua of Papua New Guinea, Urima Teryll of Samoa, and Alice Kawia’a of the Solomon Islands. The results are as follows:

		Snatch			Clean	and	Jerk
Lifter	Body weight	1^st Lift	2^nd Lift	3^rd Lift	1^st Lift	2^nd Lift	3^rd Lift	Totals	Placing
Dika Toua	52.46 kg.	70 kg.	75 kg.	80 kg.	95 kg.	103 kg. SPG record*	110 kg. (no lift)	183 kg.	1^st
Urima Teryll	53 kg.	45 kg.	50 kg.	54 kg. (no lift)	60 kg.	65 kg.	70 kg. (no lift)	115 kg.	2^nd
Alice Kawia’a	51.22 kg.	45 kg.	40 kg.	43 kg. (no lift)	50 kg.	55 kg. (no lift)	55 kg. (no lift)	90 kg.	3rd

In the 53 kg. class, it does not get any better than Dika Toua’s technically correct and powerful lifts. She did drop her opener in the clean and jerk from 100 kg. to 95 kg. then changed her second attempt from 97 kg. to 103 kg., still a successful lift, and finally changed her third attempt from 104 kg. to 110 kg. to try to set a new South Pacific Games record however, she was unsuccessful. Toua did set the record, in the clean and jerk, at 103 kg.

Overall, it was very clear cut in today’s lightweight class, whoever won the overall medal also won the gold, silver, and bronze respectfully in both events. The overall totals for the 48 kg. class was understandable but, the 53 kg. class was a different story. The difference in the overall totals between first and second place was a whopping 68 kg. difference – outclassed, out powered, and out in front.