Historical Record of the O.N.O.C.

1981

 

On an initiative from IOC President Juan Antonio Samaranch, who was encouraging the establishment of regional zones throughout the world, a meeting was held in Baden-Baden, West Germany on 25 September 1981, on the occasion of the Olympic Congress. The discussion on procedures for establishing the “National Olympic Committees of Oceania”, to promote the development of Olympism in the area and the coordination and distribution of Olympic Solidarity funds for sports development.

NOCs present at this meeting were Australia (3 Members), Fiji (2), New Zealand (3), Papua New Guinea (2). The meeting appointed the following provisional office bearers to form a Steering Committee:

President:                                Harold Austad            (New Zealand)
Secretary General:                   Julius Patching            (Australia)
Vice President:                        Brian Wightman          (Fiji)
Executive Member:                 Graeme Norris             (Papua New Guinea)

In addition to the initial tasks proposed at Baden-Baden they set about the preparation of an initial Constitution for ONOC.

 

Solomon Islands successfully hosted the first South Pacific Mini Games in Honiara on an initiative suggested by Brian Wightman.

1982

The inaugural meeting of the Oceania National Olympic Committees was held in Melbourne, Australia on 23 February 1982. It was attended by the four formative NOCs present in Baden-Baden.

This meeting adopted an ONOC Constitution and discussed allocation of the 1982 Solidarity funding for the region. A special grant of US$75,000 had been provided to ONOC for its initial administrative expenses. The provisional Office Bearers were also confirmed in office.

 

The first ever Solidarity funded program was held in Suva in June 1982 for the purpose of gathering together sports leaders of the Pacific to start the process of forming National Olympic Committees.

The second meeting of ONOC was held in Wellington, New Zealand on 12 November 1982, with organisation assistance from George Craig, Secretary General of the New Zealand Olympic and Commonwealth Games Association.

This meeting included Phil Coles and Kevan Gosper, IOC Members from Australia, as well as 2 delegates from each of the four founding NOCs. The Constitution was reviewed and future development of the area discussed.

At this meeting Harold Austad resigned his Presidency and Lance Cross (IOC Member in New Zealand) replaced him as President of ONOC and Vice President of ANOC.

 

8 Oceania countries attended the Commonwealth Games held in Brisbane, Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, PNG, Solomon Islands, Samoa, Tonga and Vanuatu.

1983

The 1983 Annual General Meeting of ONOC was held in Boroko, Papua New Guinea on 24 June 1983. Solomon Islands, the third largest Country in the Pacific Region, was welcomed into ONOC and was represented by Chris Suaga, who at that time was the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Youth Sport and Culture.

ONOC adopted its own Logo, designed by Phil Coles.

 

IOC President Juan Antonio Samaranch made his first visit to the Pacific Region and immediately encouraged an all out effort to identify and recruit new member NOCs

 

Western Samoa hosted the 7th South Pacific Games in Apia.

1984

A special meeting was held at the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra, on 18 and 19 April 1984. Western Samoa was admitted to the Olympic Movement, represented by Mr John MacDonald. This was the start of a long association with the AIS and the ONOC that has continued to this day.

The 1984 Annual General Meeting was held at the same venue on 13th December 1984, with delegates from Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and Western Samoa plus IOC Members Kevan Gosper and Phil Coles from Australia.

A Zone Administration Course was held in Fiji in June 1985 and was another occasion of great success. From this Course, many of the current leaders in Sports Administration through-out the Pacific, Graduated.

The following office bearers were elected:

President:                   Lance Cross               (New Zealand)
Vice President:          Brian Wightman       (Fiji)
Secretary General:    Julius Patching          (Australia)
Executive Members: Brown Saua               (Solomon Islands)
                                    John Dawanincura   (Papua New Guinea)
                                    Paul Wallwork          (Western Samoa)

ONOC established its own Oceania Medical Commission and Dr. Ken Fitch of Australia was appointed Chairman. Invitations were extended to Oceania Zone NOC's for further representatives of the Medical Commission.

 

The Olympic Games were held in Los Angeles. In addition to the 6 official members of the ONOC, Tonga was also given special dispensation to attend these Games, even though not yet recognized as a National Olympic Committee.

1985

The ONOC Secretaries-General met in Fiji on 18th and 19th May, 1985.

 

A very successful Sports Medicine Course had been held in Canberra in May 1985 under the chairmanship of Ken Fitch.

The Oceania Olympic Academy was held at the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra from 8 - 12 December 1985.

The Annual General Meeting was held in Rotorua, New Zealand on 7th November 1985. It was presided over by President Lance Cross and representated were Australia (1), New Zealand (3), Fiji (2), Papua New Guinea (2), Western Samoa (2), Solomon Islands (2).

It was agreed that future meetings of Secretaries General be held in conjunction with the Annual General Meeting to minimise travel and accommodation costs.

 

Cook Islands successfully hosted the 2^nd South Pacific Mini Games and the ONOC Medical Commission sent David Zuker to provide physiotherapy training and support for the first time.

 

American Samoa were admitted into the Olympic Movement.

1986

ONOC held two meetings during 1986.

The first was a zone meeting held in Seoul on 22nd April 1986 at the time of the ANOC General Assembly. It covered general discussions on the Zone Materials Aid Programme, ANOC and IOC matters.

The Annual General Meeting was held in Fiji on the 10th May. The three previous Executive Members (John Dawanincura, Brown Saua and Paul Wallwork) were re-elected for a further term.

 

Tonga was admitted into the Olympic Movement.

 

7 Oceania countries attended the Commonwealth Games held in Edinburgh with Cook Islands and Norfolk Island attended their first Games.

 

1987

IOC President, Juan Antonio Samaranch made his second tour of the Pacific Region.

 

A series of ONOC meetings were held during May 1987.

The Administration Committee met on 26th May 1987 at the Suva Travelodge in Fiji to discuss the concept of a Zone Development Officer and Brian Wightman was charged with preparing a comprehensive proposal on the scheme. Brian would later assume this post during 1990.

The Secretaries General met on 27th May 1987 in Apia, Western Samoa. Membership of ONOC had risen to 11 Members and the meeting was attended by Australia, Cook Islands, Fiji, Guam, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Tonga, American Samoa, Western Samoa and Vanuatu.

The Annual General Meeting followed on 28th May 1987 at the same venue.

Seiuli Paul Wallwork, President of the Western Samoa  NOC, was made an IOC member at the 92nd IOC Session in Istanbul. This left a vacancy on the Executive of ONOC, which was filled by Neville Pearson of Cook Islands.

 

New Caledonia hosted a heavily boycotted 8^th South Pacific Games in Noumea.

1988

An ONOC Administration Committee met at the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra on 3rd January 1988 to discuss further concepts of the Zone Development Officer project and the formation of two new ONOC Commissions, the Development Commission, chaired by Sir Hugh Henry and the Finance Commission, chaired by Tay Wilson.

The Secretaries General Meeting was held on 9th June 1988 in Auckland, New Zealand. Brian Wightman was in the chair due to Lance Cross being ill.

At the Annual General Meeting on 10th June, the suggested appointment of an Oceania Zone Development Officer (ZDO) was ratified. Brian Wightman was to take up this position in 1990. The Development and Finance Commission were also confirmed. It was announced that Tay Wilson had been made IOC Member in New Zealand. Brian Wightman moved to Tonga to assist with the organization of the South Pacific Mini-Games of 1989.

 

The Olympic Games were held in Seoul, Korea, the first Games for newly established ONOC members, American Samoa, Guam, Cook Islands and Vanuatu.

1989

The Meeting of ONOC Secretaries General was held in Melbourne, Australia on 15th June 1989. The meeting was saddened by the loss of a good friend and President of ONOC, Sir Lance Cross who passed away on 13 May 1989. Sir Lance had been a tireless worker and was instrumental in the establishment of the ONOC, laying the foundations for what it is today. Representatives attended from all 11 Oceania NOCs.

The Annual General Meeting held on 16th June at the same venue was attended by 26 participants.

Changes to the ONOC Constitution were discussed and a Constitution Review Committee set in place.

Election of office bearers for the next Olympiad took place. Results were:

President:                    Richard Kevan Gosper (Australia)
Vice President:            Robin Mitchell            (Fiji)
Secretary General:       Tay Wilson                  (New Zealand)
Executive Members:   Hugh Henry                (Cook Islands)
                                    Michael Reidy             (Guam)
                                    John Dawanincura     (Papua New Guinea)
Finance Commission:              
Chairman:                    Tay Wilson                  (New Zealand)
Members:                    Michael Reidy             (Guam)
                                    Joseph Ho Ching         (American Samoa)

Development Commission:  
Chairman:                    Hugh Henry                (Cook Islands)
Members:                    John Dawanincura      (Papua New Guinea)
                                    Kalman Kiri                (Vanuatu)
Medical Commission:              
Chairman :                   Dr. Ken Fitch              (Australia)
Members :                   Dr. Bernie Amof         (Papua New Guinea)
                                    Dr. Matt Marshall       (New Zealand)
                                    Dr. Robin Mitchell      (Fiji)
                                    Dr. Rozycki                 (Guam)
                                    David Zuker                (Australia),

Tonga hosted the 3rd South Pacific Mini Games.

 

Brian Wightman, took up full time duties as Oceania Zone Development Officer from 1st January 1990.

 

The ONOC Headquarters became established in Wellington, New Zealand thanks to the personal generosity and commitment of Tay Wilson..

1990

The General Assembly was held from 18^th – 22^nd April 1990, on Guam and covered more general discussion on the Constitutional Review and the formation of an Oceania Olympic Training Center (O.O.T.C.), promised as part of Australia’s bid for the 2000 Olympic Games.

 

In conjunction with the Australian Government the sum of US$50,000 was allocated towards establishing an Oceania Olympic Training Centre at the AIS in Canberra.

A further US$10,000 was set aside for travel for participants from one ONOC country to attend another NOC's national Olympic Solidarity courses.

A meeting of ONOC delegates was also held in Barcelona on 4 June 1990 prior to the  ANOC Assembly. As well as general items, the meetings included a report from the Zone Development Officer on his first six months of operations.

 

10 countries from Oceania attended the Commonwealth Games held in Auckland New Zealand, including Nauru for the very first time.

1991

The ONOC Executive Council met in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea on 16th February 1991 prior to inspecting venues and facilities for the South Pacific Games to be held in Papua New Guinea in September. The Executive were pleased to confirm the first intake of scholarship placements into the Olympic Training Center at Canberra.

The OOTC scholarships were open to all Oceania NOC's except Australia and New Zealand.

On the occasion of its 10th anniversary, ONOC held its Annual General Meeting in Nadi, Fiji on 17 and 18 May. This was the largest ever ONOC assembly of delegates and guests - over 50 attendees - zone representatives of the International Federations  having been invited.

 

Papua New Guinea hosted the 9^th South Pacific Games in Port Moresby, setting a standard for its Opening and Closing Ceremonies that has been difficult to repeat.

A new Constitution of the Oceania National Olympic Committees was adopted that would enable it to operate in a more professional manner with a greater emphasis on service and support for member NOCs.

1992

The ONOC General Assembly was held in Rarotonga, Cook Islands from the 27 - 29th of May.

The Olympic Games were held in Barcelona, Spain with all 11 NOCs from Oceania attending.

 

An informal meeting of Oceania delegates was held at the Princes Sofia Hotel in Barcelona with the following outcomes:

• confirmed that a Regional Workshop was to be held in Suva, Fiji in December to plan Development programmes for the region for the next Olympiad.
• developed a strategy for promoting ONOC's case in regard to participation in the Olympic Games.

• completed discussions on possible competitions between Asia and Oceania.

Tonga employed a full time Sports Development Officer the first such appointment by a National Olympic Committee in the Pacific Region.

Dr Jean Roberts was appointed to manage the Oceania Olympic Training Centre in Canberra as athletes and coaches from the Pacific took advantage of the offer to attend the AIS for intensive training and competition programs.

1993

The highlight of the year was the selection of Sydney as the host of the 2000 Olympic Games.

The Annual General Assembly of ONOC was held in Auckland, New Zealand. This meeting also saw the election of the new office bearers for ONOC for the next Olympiad. Those elected were:

President :                   Richard Kevan Gosper           (IOC, Australia)
Vice-President:           John Dawanincura                 (Papua New Guinea)
Secretary General:       Dr Robin Mitchell                   (Fiji)

Executive members:    Joe Toloai Ho Ching              (American Samoa)
                                    Ricardo Blas                           (Guam)
                                    Dr Fred Sevele                        (Tonga)

Fred Sevele resigned later in the year due to his business commitments and was replaced by Terry Hagan (Cook Islands).

The Executive Committee also included the IOC Members in Oceania Phil Coles (Australia), Tay Wilson (New Zealand) and Seiuli Paul Wallwork (Western Samoa).

The ONOC Office was relocated to the Domain in Suva with newly elected Secretary General Dr Robin Mitchell.

 

Olympic Solidarity application procedures were simplified and a proposal for the appointment of National Sports Development Officers was approved later by the Assembly.

It became permissible to utilize a potion of national Olympic Solidarity funding for the purchase of equipment its development programmes.

A new constitution for Oceania was accepted.

The Development Commission met in Sydney with the Australian Sports Commission and proposals included:

• a meeting of Oceania Sports Ministers
• possible cooperation with WHO in Sports for All / Health for All programmes.
• the adoption of the Aussie Sports (Junior sports) programme.

 

Office staff from the various Oceania NOCs attended an Administration course hosted by the Australian Olympic Committee at the New South Wales Academy of Sports at Narabeen.

Twenty-six scholarships were awarded to Oceania NOCs with weightlifting receiving the most (10).

 

Vanuatu hosted the 4^th South Pacific Mini Games in Port Vila.

 

1994

The highlight for 1994 was the visit to Apia for the Oceania National Olympic Committees General Assembly by the President of the International Olympic Committee Juan Antonio Samaranch on hie third tour of the Pacific Region and the President of ANOC Mario Vazquez Raña

As a result of the visit, potential candidates for future NOC status were also invited, and representatives of Nauru, Niue and Tahiti took the opportunity to meet with the President of the IOC.

ONOC's first four year Development Plan, as prepared by the Development Commission, was adopted at this Assembly.

During the IOC Centenary Olympic Congress Nauru was recognised as a new NOC bringing to 12 the number of NOCs in our region.

In addition, Dr Robin Mitchell was appointed to membership of the International Olympic Committee bringing to five the number of IOC members in Oceania.

Following the Paris Olympic Congress, Oceania NOC Presidents were invited to visit IOC headquarters in Lausanne.

The Oceania Olympic Training Centre based in Canberra was boosted by the decision of the Australian Government to increase its contribution to the OOTC programme. This was matched by Olympic Solidarity, thereby increasing the number of scholarships from 26 to 40 per year.

The Australian Government launched the Australia South Pacific 2000 programme whose primary aim was to implement a systematic strategy for sports development throughout the Oceania region leading up to the Sydney Olympic Games. This programme was being developed in conjunction with the Development Commission of ONOC.

ONOC countries competed in three regional competitions in 1994 namely the Micronesian Games (Guam), the Commonwealth Games (Canada) and the Winter Olympic Games in Lillehammer. Australia won their first ever Winter Olympic medal in the Short Track Speed Skating.

1995

The ONOC Executive Committee met in Sydney in January 1995 following a workshop organised by the Development Commission of ONOC with Oceania representatives of International Federations.

 

Sports Ministers from the Independent Pacific Islands met in Sydney and Canberra to review the preparations for the Sydney Olympics as well as visit the Australian Institute of Sports and receive briefings from ONOC, the Australian Sports Commission and the Australian Olympic Committee.

 

The Australia South Pacific (ASP) 2000 Sports Program was officially launched from Canberra, Australia.

The ONOC Development Commission met in Vanuatu (May), Tahiti (August) and held several teleconferences to continually update and monitor their programmes.

The Secretaries General of the Oceania NOCs met prior to the Annual General Assembly which was held in Port Vila, Vanuatu in May 1995.

ONOC adopted a Doping Policy proposed by the ONOC Medical Commission.

Oceania Chefs de Mission to the 1996 Olympic Games held a meeting in Atlanta prior to the ACOG Chefs de Mission meeting to be briefed by AOC President and Chef de Mission John Coates.

The 10th South Pacific Games were held in Tahiti in August despite boycotts by 4 countries protesting the resumption of nuclear testing by France in Mururoa.

 
Seven of the 10 Island National Olympic Committees appointed Sports Development Officers to assist in their respective NOC's programmes.

1996

There was obvious and measurable improvement in the sporting activity in the region, both in levels of participation and standards of performance. Paea Wolfgramm (TGA) became the first Pacific Islander representing his home country to win an Olympic Medal; Silver in Boxing.

The Executive Committee in addition to reviewing and confirming draft plans for the next Olympiad also focused on two other major issues :

• a report from Perry Crosswhite on the possibilities for regional corporate sponsorship.
• the possible inauguration of a regional games for Oceania. The European Model of Youth Games was one of the possibilities considered. The biennial South Pacific Games currently excludes Australia and New Zealand.

Brian Wightman retired from the ONOC during 1996 and Brian Minikin, the Coordinator of the ASP 2000 Program relocated to Fiji to continue with the implementation of the Australian Government Program in cooperation with the ONOC through its Development Commission.

 

12 Oceania NOCs attended the Atlanta Olympic Games, including Nauru for their first appearance.

1997

In early February, ONOC held an Olympic Academy in Sydney attended by office bearers of all Oceania National Olympic Committees.

The ONOC Development Commission met and featured contributions and active involvement of the Regional Sports Federations.

ONOC's General Assembly was held in Guam in April l997 and was the biggest meeting held to date. Apart from NOCs and representatives of International Federations, delegates from the South Pacific Games Council as well as representatives of all Candidate cities for the 2004 Olympic Games attended the Assembly. The IOC was represented by Fekrou Kidane, Pere Miro and Beatrix Hurst, and the Secretary General of ANOC Feliciano Mayoral also attended the assembly. ONOC's new office bearers for the next Olympiad were elected at this assembly.

President :                   Richard Kevan Gosper           (IOC, Australia)
Vice-President:           Ricardo Blas                           (Guam)
Secretary General:       Dr Robin Mitchell                   (Fiji)

Executive members:    Vinsen Detenamo                  (Nauru)
                                    Joe Carlo                                 (Vanuatu)
                                    Tevita Tupou                           (Tonga)

IOC Members:            Tay Wilson                              (New Zealand)
                                    Phil Coles                                (Australia)
                                    Seiuli Paul Wallwork              (Samoa)

ONOC's Third Four Year Strategic Plan was adopted at the ONOC General Assembly held in Guam.

The Oceania Sports Information Centre (OSIC) was officially launched in Suva, Fiji in August at the University of the South Pacific (USP). Triple Olympian, Mr Albert Miller was appointed Director of the OSIC. The project was funded by Olympic Solidarity and UNESCO, with technical support provided by the Australian Sports Commission.

American Samoa successfully hosted the 5^th South Pacific Mini Games with almost 2000 athletes competing in 12 sports.



Oceania NOC Sports Development Officers attended a workshop in Suva with representatives of the University of the South Pacific Community Recreation Centre with a view to launching a Sports Education Programme on the University's Extension network.

In September 1997 Dennis Miller, formerly Executive Director of the Fiji NOC, was appointed Sports Director of ONOC, bringing to 4 the number of people working in ONOC's office.

40 scholarships were awarded to Oceania NOC's by the Oceania Olympic Training Centre based at the Australian Institute of Sports. This programme was jointly funded by Olympic Solidarity and the Australian Government.

53 grants were awarded to High Performance athletes from island NOCs funded by the Australia South Pacific 2000 programme.

The Australian Prime Minister John Howard announced that his Government would fund the cost of the Olympic Torch traveling to all NOC's prior to its 100 day journey through Australia before the lighting of the Torch at the Opening Ceremony of the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney.

Towards the end of 1997, the meeting of the South Pacific Forum countries, the leaders issued a communique which included a statement on Sport in the Pacific region and became known as the ‘Rarotonga Declaration’. Accordingly, the Forum leaders resolved to support the development of sport in the Pacific Region.

 

The Federated States of Micronesia were recognized by the IOC.

 

A regional Sport and the Environment workshop was held in Apia, Samoa on the 4-5 December. 11 of the 13 NOCs sent technical and NOC delegates to the seminar.

1998

The 1998 Annual General Assembly of Oceania National Olympic Committees was held in Nadi, Fiji on Saturday 2nd May. The Assembly was preceded by a series of Workshop sessions on Friday 1 May covering Olympic Solidarity, the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games, the Olympic Torch Relay, the Australia South Pacific 2000 Program and Coaching Development in Oceania.

 

ONOC launched its own Web Site under the Domain Name of www.oceaniaolympic.org.

Oceania countries and in particular, Australia performed well at the Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur Malaysia, with Australia again winning the most medals in this competition.  New Zealand and the island of Nauru were also multiple gold medal winners with Fiji and Papua New Guinea also winning minor medals. 14 Countries from the Oceania Region took part in the Games including representatives from Niue, Tuvalu and Kiribati for the first time.

 

In March, NOC Sports Development Officers (SDO’s) traveled to Nauru for a workshop on Event Management, which was held in conjunction with the Commonwealth and Oceania Weightlifting Championships in Nauru.  SDOs were involved in doping control, competition management and result services and gained valuable experience during their stay in Nauru.

In November, SDOs attended the Australian Coaching Council Seminar in Melbourne before traveling to Canberra for a workshop in Sports Technology.  Experts from the Australian Sports Commission conducted sessions in the use of Digital technology - camera, video, Information services and the use of the Internet with the focus on ONOC’s website. 

 

IOC President Juan Antonio Samaranch, on his fourth visit to the Pacific, presented former FASANOC President, Sofaia Raddock (Aunty So) with an Olympic Order (Silver).

1999

The 18th ONOC Annual General Assembly was held at the Olympic Museum in Lausanne from 11 - 14 July. The Assembly was preceded by a one day Workshop at the IOC Headquarters in Vidy, which looked at the future plans for ONOC post-Sydney 2000.

 

The Secretaries General of ONOC met in Sydney to begin the review of ONOC’s Strategic Plan for the next Olympiad and held two other meetings/workshops during their 6 day stay in Australia.  Also attending the meeting were Pacific Islands media who were being accredited by their respective NOCs to cover the 2000 Olympic Games, as well as Marketing representatives from the various NOCs in the region.

 

ONOC held an Olympic Education workshop in Nadi (FIJ) where representatives from Education Departments from 14 countries worked with IOC Education Commission member Helen Brownlee (AUS), to develop a teaching resource for the 2000 Olympic Torch Relay.

 

The 11^th South Pacific Games were held in Guam during the year. Over 3,000 athletes and officials competed, with the Micronesian athletes represented in large numbers.  The most medals continued to be won by the French territory of New Caledonia. 

 

Palau became the 200^th member of the Olympic movement.

 

The close cooperation between the ASP 2000 Programme and ONOC continued in 1999 in particular in areas of human resource development. The short term attachment of new NOC officers and Sports Development Officers continued in 1999 with visits from American Samoa, Federated States of Micronesia, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Tonga and Vanuatu. Participants spent time at ONOC, the Fiji NOC office, the Fiji Sports Council Sports Development Unit and the Oceania Sports Information Centre (OSIC).

Other developments included skills transfer between Pacific Island countries, in particular in event management and National Games support.

 

The Vanuatu NOC hosted a workshop for Melanesian women from the NOCs of Papua New Guinea, Solomon Is, Fiji and the host country.  This very successful workshop, conducted by Julie Hoornweg, established a format for future training programmes for women in sport in the Oceania region.

2000

The highlight for ONOC during the year was without doubt the successful celebration of the Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia followed two weeks later by the Paralympic Games in the same venues.  The Sydney Olympic Games has been hailed as the best ever Olympic Games by the President of the IOC, Juan Antonio Samaranch.

The Sydney Games, also termed the Games of Oceania was also significant in its involvement of the whole continent in the 4 year period leading up to the Games.  Oceania contributed to the four Cultural Festivals which began in 1997, and staged the highly successful Olympic Torch relay which began in Guam on the 22nd of May, and continued through all the National Olympic Committees of the region except Fiji, finally arriving in the host country on the 8th of June 2000.  During each leg of the relay, there were unprecedented community involvement and celebration of the journey of the torch and at the end of the day the unique cultures of the 13 countries that were fortunate to host the Torch Relay, were displayed at the community celebrations which signaled the end of the relay.

Other features of the Olympic experience in Oceania included:

• A first appearance for the Federated States of Micronesia and Palau.
• Publication of a Torch Relay educational kit which was distributed to many schools in the 14 National Olympic Committees of Oceania and which was also published on the ONOC Internet Website.
• Establishment of Hospitality Houses at the Games for the Australian Olympic Committee as well as New Zealand House which incorporated the Pacific Islands Hospitality Centre for the 12 Island NOCs of the region.
• Pacific Arts & Cultural Pavilion at New Zealand House
• Pacific Islands Media Centre with facilities for Print media and a Radio studio for Pacific Island media and broadcasters.
• Fully staffed ONOC Administration centre within the Olympic Village with internet access for all Pacific Island athletes and officials and administrative and medical support for 10 of the 14 ONOC NOCs.

The 19^th ONOC General Assembly was held for the first time in Nukualofa in the Kingdom of Tonga from the 26 – 28th of April 2000.  Delegates from all NOCs, ONOC Commissions, SOCOG, ASP 2000 Committee and representatives from Oceania International Federations were joined by Michel Filliau and Beatrix Hurst from the IOC. 

The Australian Olympic Committee launched the Sydney Olympic Youth Festival, the equivalent of the European Youth Days. 

 

The second of three Sub-regional Leadership workshops for Women Sports Administrators was held in early February in Auckland, NZL for women from Polynesia.

 

The ONOC website (www.oceania-olympic.org) was in its third year of operation and was proving to be a valuable communication tool for ONOC and its members.

ONOC’s electronic newsletter Coconut Wireless was by now being emailed on a regular basis to all subscribing members.   22 editions were put online in 2000.

 

The Oceania Sport Information Centre, located at the University of the South Pacific in Suva, Fiji was now in its third year of operation.  Proposals for the establishment of a Distance Education program based at OSIC were being evaluated. 

 

The special agreement whereby Oceania coordinated their own Scholarship program for Coaches and athletes continued in 2000. 43 athletes and coaches received scholarships during the year to prepare for Olympic qualification tournaments, as well as their participation in the Olympic Games for those who qualified.

2001

The 20^th General Assembly of ONOC was held in Nadi, Fiji on the 6th and 7th of April and we were fortunate that the outgoing President of the IOC, H.E. Juan Antonio Samaranch was able to attend the last day of the assembly as part of his 5^th tour to the Pacific Region. During the Assembly, he acknowledged the work being done by the various NOCs within the region and again highlighted the success of the Olympic Games in Sydney.  However, he felt that despite an increasing amount of resources being made available to the developing NOCs within the region, their standard of achievement was lagging behind the rest of the world.  He urged the NOCs to aim to achieve a medal in the Olympic Games in the not too distant future.

A feature of this year’s General Assembly was the use of Wireless Technology during the meeting to transfer documentation and presentations being made at the Assembly.  The technology also allowed NOCs access to the Internet and email.

The election of office bearers of ONOC for the next four years was as follows:

 

President                     Mr. Kevan Gosper     (AUS)
Vice President             Sir John Dawanincura (PNG)
Secretary General        Dr Robin Mitchell       (FIJ)

Executive Members:   Hon Tevita Tupou       (TGA)
                                    Hon Joe Carlo             (VAN)
                                    Mr. Ricardo Blas         (GUM)

 

IOC Members Phil Coles

                                    John Coates

                                    Susie O’Neil

                                    Tay Wilson

• Appointment of ONOC Medical Commission

Chairman                     Prof Ken Fitch            (AUS)
Members                     Prof Eddie McCaig     (FIJ)
                                    Dr Patrick Sagisi         (GUM)
                                    Dr Chris Milne            (NZL)
                                    Dr Bernie Amof          (PNG)
                                    Mr. David Zuker         (AUS)

Adoption of the 4th ONOC Sports Development Plan 2001 – 2004.

Adoption of amendments to the ONOC constitution – bringing ONOC’s constitution in line with the changes made to the IOC Constitution at the 100th session of the IOC on 12 December 1999.  In addition, the constitution addressed the membership of ONOC, as well as formalizing the voting procedure.

At the September Executive meeting of ONOC, 2001, IOC Member Susie O’Neill, also a member of the IOC Athletes’ Commission, was appointed Chairperson of the newly formed ONOC Athletes Commission.

In 2001, ONOC assumed many of the responsibilities for the control of the Olympic Solidarity programme previously managed from Lausanne.  

12 NOC's employed Sports Development Officers from their national activities allocation, in 2001.

ONOC provided grants to nine Oceania International Federations to employ IF Sports Development Officers (Archery, Badminton, Baseball, Basketball, Hockey, Table Tennis and Weightlifting).

ONOC established a joint programme with the International Tennis Federation to provide scholarships to top young tennis players to attend school as well as train fulltime at the Regional Tennis Training Centre in Lautoka, Fiji.

ONOC moved to its new headquarters at the end of May 2001 in offices located within the Forum Secretariat Complex in Suva.  The Forum Secretariat houses the headquarters for the Secretariat of the Pacific Island Forum Governments, which represents the 16 independent island countries within the region together with Australia and New Zealand.

Brian Minikin officially joined ONOC in the role of Manager responsible for Sports Development, continuing on with the work he had initiated under the ASP 2000 Sports Program.

A major initiative of ONOC, under its theme of "Development Through Competition" was to provide an administrative subsidy to the host NOC of $25,000 annually to encourage a higher quality of administration and communication leading up to Major Regional Games. Grants of $USD10,000.00 were also provided to NOCs hosting National Games.

The 6^th  South Pacific Mini Games was hosted by Norfolk Island (AUS) from 1 – 11th of December.  About 900 athletes competed in eleven sports and for a short period of time increased the population of Norfolk by 50%.

2002

The 22^nd ONOC General Assembly was held in Port Moresby, PNG.

 

Ms Baklai Temengil, Secretary General from Palau was elected onto to the ONOC Executive as the fourth representative from the NOC’s.

 

The need for the construction of a Regional Database after 10 years of discussion became a priority.

 

A Performance Enhancement Workshop was held in Canberra for the Sports Development Officers of each NOC in Oceania in Canberra. At this workshop, first attempts were made to agree on the format of databases to be established in each NOC.

 

The Major issues revolved around the taking part in the Manchester Commonwealth Games during August 2002. Nauru won 15 medals, in Manchester, including 2 gold medals to record the highest ever tally by a Pacific Island CGA at a Commonwealth Games. Fiji with three medals scored their highest medal tally since the 1950 Empire Games and their first Gold since 1982. Samoa also won three medals for their best performance at a Commonwealth Games.

 

ONOC established a joint administration centre in the Manchester 2002 Games Village to support the administrative effort for all Islands CGA’s.

 

IOC President Jacques Rogge visited Fiji during December 2002 and presented Vidhya Lakhan (FIJ) the Olympic Order (Silver), in recognition for his services to the Olympic Movement in Fiji.

2003

Fiji hosted the XIIth South Pacific Games, catering for 31 Sports disciplines and 21 Countries. These were the biggest Games ever held and the first to draw primarily on corporate support as the primary source of income.

 

A Regional Database for athletes, coaches and officials was established under the umbrella of Oceaniasport.

The ONOC Medical Commission conducted Sports Medicine courses prior to the Games as well as providing a Sports Medicine Clinic staffed by a Sports Physician, Dr Chris Milne and two physiotherapists.

In addition ONOC helped the organizing committees by establishing a Media and Results Center staffed by NOC Sports Development Officers and selected media personnel from the region, as well as providing a ‘portable radio station’ to relay sports stories to the 22 member countries/territories of the South Pacific Games Council.

ONOC's work in this area ultimately resulted in the establishment of a Regional Games Management and Sports Administration System, the first of its kind in the world. In partnership with the Australian Government and the Melbourne based company, Sporting Pulse, ONOC established a web portal, www.oceaniasport.com that included a web site for every NOC and their member National Federations, and a Web Based results and Games Management System for Regional and National Multi-sport Games as well as for the individual sport championships.

 

The first Olympoceania Projects got underway in Solomon Islands and Vanuatu, aimed primarily to establish a headquarters and an income earning asset for these respective NOCs.

 

Kiribati were admitted into the Olympic Movement.

2004

The 2004 Annual General Assembly was held in Palau in order to give delegates a chance to review preparations for th e2005 Mini Games to be held the following year.

 

11 Pacific Islands NOC’s had established and conducted a National Multi-sport Games.

 

The Olympic Games in Athens saw 51 athletes from the Pacific Islands, join their more established Australian and New Zealand brothers at the Olympic Games held in Athens, Greece. Pacific Islands athletes obtained 3 top 10 finishes and 2 Olympic diplomas, to PNG and Nauru.

Australia once again demonstrated that it had become a 'World Power' in sport, ably supported by an ever increasing standard of athlete from the rest of the Pacific. 14 athletes from 7 Pacific Islands NOCs reached qualifying standards for Athens as established by their respective International Federations.

 

www.oceaniasport.com once again brought news of the Islands athletes to the world and recorded over 1 million hits during the Olympic Games. A designated Website, ‘Oceania in Athens’ was also established, with stories and photos as well as a summary of results from our Region. ONOC also organized a combined administration centre for the Islands NOC in Athens as it had in Sydney.

 

The ONOC Women in Sport Commission was formally established with Baklai Temengil (PLW) as Chairperson.

 

Talei Burness retired as Office Manager at ONOC and was replaced by Hanisivae Visante.

2005

The General Assembly held in Brisbane was graced by the presence of the new President of the IOC, Dr Jacques Rogge.

 

A new Executive Committee was elected as follows:

 

President                     Mr. R. Kevan Gosper  (AUS)
Vice President             Mr Ricardo Blas          (GUM)
Secretary General        Dr Robin Mitchell       (FIJ)

Executive Members:   Hon Tevita Tupou       (TGA)
                                    Hon Joe Carlo             (VAN)
                                    Mr Barry Maister        (NZL)

                                    Ms Baklai Temengil    (PLW)

 

IOC Members:            Mr Phil Coles

                                    Mr John Coates

                                    Ms Barbara Kendall

 

The largest Assembly ever held by ONOC saw the formal acceptance of the newly formed the Olympic Sports Federations of Oceania – OSFO, from which two delegates were permitted to sit at the Assembly without voting rights.

 

 

Sir John Dawanincura was awarded an Olympic Order (Silver) for his services to the Olympic Movement and in particular for his contributions to ONOC.

 

Tay Wilson retired as an IOC Member and was honoured with the Oceania Order of Merit along with ONOC’s first Secretary General, Julius Lockington Patching.

 

The Pacific Forum formally accepted ‘Sport’ as a legitimate Key Result Area in its Pacific Plan for the next ten years. This represented a significant recognition by the Governments of the Pacific Region of the value of sport in the overall development of a nation.

 

The Government of Australia announced a special grant of $AUD600,000.00 to establish materials and develop courses under an Oceania Sports Education Program (OSEP).

 

A Regional Anti Doping Organiasation (RADO) was established at the ONOC office in Suva, coordinated by Natanya Potoi from Samoa, one of the original Doping Control Officers trained in the Pacific Region.

 

The Melbourne 2006 Commonwealth Games accepted entries online through the Oceania On-Line Data Base.

 

The Commonwealth Games Baton Relay traveled through every Commonwealth Games Association in the Pacific, carrying the Queen’s Message to be read out at the Opening Ceremony.

 

Palau hosted a successful South Pacific Mini-Games and became the first NOC to register all entries ‘on-line’ through the Oceaniasport Games Management System.

 

Papua New Guinea hosted their first National Games with over 4,000 athletes in attendance from 18 Provinces.

 

2006

This year saw participation by the largest Pacific Islands contingent ever at the Melbourne Commonwealth Games held in March 2006. Nauru, Fiji Samoa and Papua New Guinea all won medals.

 

ONOC established and supported a highly sophisticated combined administration, medical and I.T. Centre for the Island Teams participating in the Melbourne Commonwealth Games and maintained an ‘Oceania in Melbourne’ web site to highlight Pacific Islands performances throughout the Games.

 

The 25^th anniversary of the ONOC was commemorated in Fiji on the occasion of the 26^th General Assembly.

 

The Olympic Sports Federations of Oceania (OSFO) conducted their first General Assembly in conjunction with the ONOC AGM.

 

The Republic of the Marshall Islands are admitted to the Olympic Movement and attend their first meeting as full members with Terry Sasser and Kenneth Kramer as Delegates.

 

The establishment of a Not for Profit Oceaniasport Foundation was mooted to assist raising funds for sports development projects in the Pacific. This was launched during November 2006 in Melbourne with a foundation grant from the Government of Victoria.

 

www.oceaniasport.com reached an average of 300,000 page requests per month.

 

ONOC took over the day to day management of the OSEP, being primarily responsible for driving the implementation phase of this project.