Draft Minutes of the Council General Assembly: 12 July 2015 Gateway Hotel, ,

Present: Executive Board of PGC Mr Vidhya Lakhan, President (Chairman) Mr Marcus Stephen, Vice President Mr David Boyd, Secretary-General Mr John Tierney, Treasurer Mr Carl Probert, Athletes’ Representative Ms Frida Delmau, Executive Board Member Mr Andrew Minogue, Executive Director

Past Presidents of PGC Mr Roger Kaddour (Nouvelle Caledonie) Sir John N. Dawanincura, (President, Papua New Guinea PGA) Mr Ricardo Blas, (President, PGA)

Pacific Games Associations (PGAs) Mr Billy Young, Secretary-General, American Mr Hugh Graham, President, Mr Robert Graham, Secretary-General, Cook Islands Mr Joe Rodan, President, Ms Lorraine Mar, Secretary-General, Fiji Mr James Tobin, Secretary-General, Federated States of Micronesia Mr Randy Germinaro, Delegate, Federated States of Micronesia Mr Castro Joab, Delegate, Federated States of Micronesia Mr Joey Miranda III, Chef de Mission, Guam Ms Kelly Lee, Delegate, Guam Mr Kautu Temakei, Secretary-General, Mr Rota Onorio, Chief Executive Officer, Kiribati Mr Kenneth Kramer, President, Mr Dominic Cain, Secretary-General, Mr Alvin Harris, Chef de Mission, Nauru Mr Charles Cali, President, Nouvelle Caledonie Mr Laurent Cassier, Trésorier, Nouvelle Caledonie Mr Michel Quintin, Directeur, Nouvelle Caledonie Mr Maru Talagi, Vice President, Mr Mal Tarrant, President, Mr Milton Bradley, Secretary-General, Norfolk Island Mr Michael White, President, Mr Syd Yates, Vice President, Papua New Guinea Mr Patrick Fepuleai, President, Samoa Nu’u Tapasu Leung Wai, Secretary-General, Samoa Mr Martin Rara, President, Ms Melinda Avosa, Secretary-General, Solomon Islands Mr Tauhiti Nena, President, Tahiti Nui

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Draft Minutes of the Pacific Games Council General Assembly: 12 July 2015 Gateway Hotel, Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea

Mr Taputu Faana, Delegate, Tahiti Nui Lady Tu‘ivakano, President, Siosifa Takitoa Taumoepeau, Secretary-General, Tonga Mr Isala T. Isala, Secretary-General, Mr Antoine Boudier, President, Mr Cyrille Mainguy, Secretary-General, Vanuatu Mr Soakimi Polelei, President, Wallis et Futuna Mr Vaitulukina Atelea, Secretaire-Generale, Wallis et Futuna

PGAs Absent:

Observers: Government of Tahiti Nui The Hon. Rene Temeharo, Minster of

Oceania National Olympic Committees (ONOC) Dr Robin Mitchell, President Mr Matai Akauola, Communications Director

Invited Olympic Committees Ms Helen Brownlee, Vice President, Australian Olympic Committee Ms Natalie Tong, Chef de Mission, Olympic Committee

Pacific Games Organising Committees Mrs Emma Waiwai, Chairlady, Port Moresby 2015 Mr Peter Stewart, Chief Executive Officer, Port Moresby 2015 Mr Joe Carlo, Chief Executive Officer, Vanuatu 2017 Lord Fred Sevele, Chief Executive Officer Tonga 2019 Mr Tevita Lolohea, Secretary-General, Tonga 2019

International Federations Ms Jan Paterson, International Association of Athletics Federations (representing Lord Sebastian Coe) Ms Yvonne Mullins, Athletics Association Ms Carol Kawaljenko, Oceania Federation Mr Charles Villierme, President, International Va’a Federation

PGC Marketing Committee Mr Atma Maharaj, Sponsorship and Marketing Adviser

Interpreters Mr Roy Benyon, Secretariat of the Pacific Community, Noumea Ms Christelle Petite, Secretariat of the Pacific Community, Noumea

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Draft Minutes of the Pacific Games Council General Assembly: 12 July 2015 Gateway Hotel, Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea

1. CALL TO ORDER

The President of the Pacific Games Council, Mr Vidhya Lakhan (Chair of the meeting), called the meeting to order at 9.00am on Sunday 12 July and invited Mr Patrick Fepuleai (President, Samoa PGA) to lead the General Assembly in prayer.

2. ROLL CALL AND APOLOGIES

Andrew Minogue (Executive Director) called the roll and 21 of the 22 Pacific Games Associations (PGAs) were recorded as present. Tokelau were absent from the meeting.

The Chairman announced that with 21 PGAs present, the meeting had obtained the necessary quorum as per Article 13.4 of the Charter, and was thus declared open.

Apologies were received from the Hon. Justin Tkatchenko, Minister for the , Papua New Guinea; Mr Victor Langkilde (President, PGA); Mr David Collins (President, Kiribati PGA), Mr Frank Kyota (President, PGA); Mr Ampelosa Tehulu (President, Tuvalu PGA); Ms Auvita Rapilla (Secretary-General, Papua New Guinea PGA); Ms Rose Igitol (Secretary-General, Northern Mariana Islands PGA).

3. OFFICIAL OPENING ADDRESSES

The Chairman formally welcomed the 21 PGAs to the meeting, as well as three former Presidents of the Pacific Games Council, Mr Roger Kaddour, Sir John N. Dawanincura and Mr Ricardo Blas. The Chairman also warmly welcomed the visiting dignitaries, including the Tahiti Nui Minister for Sport, the Hon. Rene Temeharo; the ONOC President, Dr Robin Mitchell; Ms Jan Paterson, representing Lord Sebastian Coe from the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF); other representatives of the International Federations, as well as representatives of the Australian and New Zealand Olympic Committees.

The Chairman thanked the President of the host PGA, Sir John Dawanincura, and the Port Moresby 2015 Pacific Games Organising Committee (2015 GOC) for their generous hospitality and for all of the meeting arrangements. He congratulated both organisations on the outstanding success of the 2015 Pacific Games, thus far. He said the Council appreciated the challenges faced by the 2015 GOC in terms of being supplied with the venues just prior to the commencement of the Games, but noted that they had so far overcome these challenges successfully.

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Draft Minutes of the Pacific Games Council General Assembly: 12 July 2015 Gateway Hotel, Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea

The Chairman said that the delegates would be presented with updates from the Executive Board and its various Committees, as well as progress reports from future Organising Committees.

The Chairman said that the Executive Board remained committed to its policy of adding value to the athletes at the Pacific Games. He was pleased with the number of using the 2015 Pacific Games to qualify athletes and teams for World Championship events and even the Olympic Games. He said he welcomed and New Zealand’s participation in the Games thus far, but reminded delegates that their participation was a trial and that these and other matters would be fully reviewed after the 2015 Pacific Games had concluded. All PGAs would be encouraged to contribute to this review.

In closing, the Chairman thanked the delegates for the spirit in which their athletes were competing in the Games and for their on-going support for the work of the Executive Board. He then invited the President of the host PGA, Sir John Dawanincura, to make his opening address.

Sir John Dawanincura welcomed all of the delegates to the meeting and to the 2015 Pacific Games. He made special mention of Past President of the PGC, Mr Roger Kaddour; ONOC President, Dr Robin Mitchell; Jan Paterson from Lord Coe’s office; and the representatives of the Australian and New Zealand Olympic Committees.

Sir John Dawanicura acknowledged the tremendous support provided by the Papua New Government, in particular from Prime Minister Peter O’Neill and the Minister for the 2015 Pacific Games, Justin Tkatchenko. The funding support for the venues, the 2015 GOC and the Team PNG athletes had been phenomenal. He also thanked the 2015 Pacific Games Authority led by Sir Kostas Constantinou; the Venues, Infrastructure and Equipment Committee (VIEC) led by Andrew Potter and Mel Donald; and the 2015 GOC led by Chairlady Emma Waiwai and CEO Peter Stewart who had all worked under severe pressure to deliver the venues and the Games on time. He also thanked the Council President and Executive Board for its unstinting support for Papua New Guinea’s ability to be ready to host the 2015 Pacific Games.

Sir John Dawanincura said that whether the 2015 Pacific Games would be the biggest and best ever would be up to the athletes to decide but he had been heartened by the many messages of support and congratulations PGAs had conveyed to him. He wished all of the PGAs and their athletes the best over the final seven days of competition.

In closing, Sir John Dawanincura thanked the Papua New Guinea PGA’s Executive Board for supporting the 2015 GOC and VIEC and said that Papua New Guinea would assist future Pacific Games Organising Committees in any way that it could.

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Draft Minutes of the Pacific Games Council General Assembly: 12 July 2015 Gateway Hotel, Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea

The Chairman thanked Sir John Dawanincura for his address and conveyed the Council’s deep appreciation to the Government of Papua New Guinea for the enormous investment it had made in the 2015 Pacific Games and for creating wonderful legacies for the athletes of the Pacific.

4. MINUTES OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY, PORT MORESBY, 4 JULY 2014

The Chairman advised that the minutes of the 4 July 2014 General Assembly were circulated electronically in advance of the meeting, both on 24 July 2014 and on 25 May 2015. Hard copies had also been made available to the meeting.

The Chairman asked that the minutes be taken as read and approved as a true record of the meeting. It was moved by Northern Mariana Islands, seconded by Papua New Guinea, and approved by the meeting as a true record of the 2014 General Assembly.

5. BUSINESS ARISING FROM THE 2014 GENERAL ASSEMBLY MINUTES

The Chairman asked the delegates if there was any business arising from the minutes they wished to raise. There being none forthcoming, it was formally recorded that there was no business arising from the minutes.

6. REPORTS

A. Executive Board Report

David Boyd (Secretary-General) and the Executive Director presented the Executive Board Report (refer attached PowerPoint presentation), which included information on its five key activities: The Port Moresby 2015 Pacific Games; Oversight of future Games Organising Committees; Convening the 4th Pacific Sports Ministers; Implementation of the Council’s Business Plan; and Management of the Council’s finances.

There were no questions arising from the Executive Board Report, which was then formally accepted by the meeting on a motion from Samoa and seconded by Vanuatu.

B. Treasurer’s Report

John Tierney (Treasurer) presented his report to the meeting (refer attached PowerPoint presentation and the copy of the audited 2014 financial statements distributed prior to the meeting on 25 May 2015). Following the Treasurer’s presentation on the audited financial statements, questions were invited from the floor.

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Draft Minutes of the Pacific Games Council General Assembly: 12 July 2015 Gateway Hotel, Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea

Sir John Dawanincura (Papua New Guinea) said that the Council’s revenues for 2014 were as a direct result of the very successful marketing program undertaken by Port Moresby 2015 Games Organising Committee CEO, Peter Stewart, and as such the Council could expect further success in 2015 under the Joint Marketing Program.

The Chairman endorsed Sir John Dawanincura’s remarks and congratulated Peter Stewart and the Port Moresby 2015 Games Organising Committee for its very successful sponsorship and marketing program.

With no further questions on the financial statements, the Treasurer moved that the 2014 audited financial statements be adopted by the meeting. Norfolk Island seconded the motion, which was then approved unanimously.

The Treasurer then completed his presentation by reporting on the Executive Board’s updated budget review; the Executive Board’s recommended increase in the Council’s financial reserves from $600,000 (agreed to in 2014) to $700,000; and the $178,000 in Protocol 7 penalty fees to be levied on PGAs as a result of their sport entry withdrawals.

With no further questions of the Treasurer, the Chairman asked the General Assembly to adopt the Treasurer’s report, which it did unanimously.

C. Marketing Committee Report

John Tierney (Treasurer, and Marketing Committee Chairman) presented the Marketing Committee report (refer attached PowerPoint presentation), which included recommendations on the importance of refining the Council’s Pacific Games product through a rigorous analysis and review of its future sports programs.

Before inviting questions, the Chairman said that to market the Games successfully in the future, the sport program had to add value to the athletes and be seen to be delivering competitions to international standard. Having sports competing with two teams reflected poorly on the image of the Pacific Games.

Joe Rodan (Fiji) said a comprehensive marketing plan was very important to financing the development of sport in the region. He cautioned that marketing plans had to be tailored to meet the needs throughout the participating island countries or they would not work. He wanted to see the detail as to how the Council’s marketing plans would work in his country. He said governments come on board very late with supporting PGA travel to the Games and if PGAs could demonstrate a sound marketing plan that would prove to governments that there was value in investing in the PGA teams.

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Draft Minutes of the Pacific Games Council General Assembly: 12 July 2015 Gateway Hotel, Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea

Tapasu Leung Wai (Samoa) congratulated the Treasurer on his presentation. He said he had been calling for years for the Council to deliver a marketing plan that benefitted PGAs and he could see that day was now arriving. He asked the Executive Board to detail its long term vision, which he hoped would entail funds to help PGAs develop sport and cover the costs of team travel, rather than simply just providing enough funds to cover the costs of Council meetings.

In taking both questions together, the Treasurer said the Council did have a strong vision for its future, starting with creating more certainty around the performance of its sports program which was the Council’s prime asset. This was essential as the Games headed to new markets like Tonga. The Council delivered an event but International Federations deliver sport, and so must be better and more engaged partners in future.

The Treasurer foreshadowed a significant period of engagement with PGAs on the review of the sports program and to improve the marketing capacity of PGAs. Whilst the $5,000 marketing grant had benefitted many PGAs, some did not want to prepare a marketing plan to fundraise for the 2015 Pacific Games. The Council could have been more prescriptive to assist those PGAs and deliver the benefits of the brand together.

The Chairman said he had a vision that one day athletes would attend the Pacific Games at no cost to PGAs as occurred at the Olympic and Commonwealth Games. That day was far off but it was a reasonable vision and the Council was moving, albeit slowly, in that direction. Over the past decade, entry fees for athletes had been removed and PGAs were now subsidised to attend non-Games year General Assemblies. A $5,000 marketing grant had been paid to PGAs to assist with fundraising in 2015 and future per diems starting with the would be limited to a maximum of $25.

With no further questions forthcoming, the Chairman asked the meeting to formally adopt the Marketing Committee’s report, which it did unanimously.

D. Sports Committee Report

Marcus Stephen (Vice President and Chairman of the Sports Committee) presented the Sports Committee report (refer attached PowerPoint presentation), noting the Sports Committee’s terms of reference for the Sports Program Review and the proposed amendments to Regulation 7 concerning squad sizes in , and .

The Chairman invited questions or comments from delegates.

Joe Rodan (Fiji) complained that in Athletics a 14 year old member of Team Fiji was told they could not reside in the Games Village under International Federation rules, even though athletes aged 14 and under from other sports were able to. He said the Pacific Games belonged to the Council and it should exert control over these matters.

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Draft Minutes of the Pacific Games Council General Assembly: 12 July 2015 Gateway Hotel, Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea

The Chairman noted the comments and said that the matter would be reviewed.

Michael White (Northern Mariana Islands) asked whether the Council had considered the promotion of sub-regional Games in Melanesia and Polynesia as potential alternatives to future .

The Chairman said that the Council had not involved itself in this issue, although it was aware that a Melanesian Games was in its infancy.

Dr Robin Mitchell (ONOC) said that ONOC had a policy of encouraging its NOCs to increase their exposure to competition, however in the case of the Melanesian Games it had been taken over by politicians and governments.

Antoine Boudier (Vanuatu) said Melanesian Games stakeholders had met recently in Noumea, where a draft constitution based on the Micronesian Games was circulated. The Melanesian Spearhead Group was consulted but had not yet approved the draft.

Ricardo Blas (Guam) said that when he was President of the Council in 2001, the question of converting the Pacific Mini Games into sub-regional Games was discussed at the Council meeting in Norfolk Island. had opposed the conversion as it wanted to invite all Pacific members when it was ready to host the Mini Games.

Robert Graham (Cook Islands) said the Pacific Mini Games should remain as presently constituted. He said that the Cook Islands Government would not financially support the hosting of a Youth Games or a sub-regional Games. The Pacific Mini Games was a well known event capable of attracting support. Cook Islands athletes now enjoyed the use of a multi-sport gymnasium which was only built due to the .

Billy Young (American Samoa) said he agreed with the Cook Islands position and that the Pacific Mini Games should remain.

The Vice President said host government support was vital to the Pacific Mini Games.

The Chairman said this question would be studied as part of the Sport Program Review.

Ricardo Blas (Guam) raised the excessive demands by the International Federations. He said that for the 1999 Games, the door was opened to the International Federations to play a larger role in the Games because Guam wanted to avert any accusations of bias in the officiating. He cited several examples of the excessive demands, including the expensive air travel and hotel accommodation for the technical officials, and the late imposition of minimum age requirements for athletes in certain combat sports.

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Draft Minutes of the Pacific Games Council General Assembly: 12 July 2015 Gateway Hotel, Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea

Ricardo Blas cited other examples that had plagued the 2015 Pacific Games, including in Shooting. He said Guam had based their travel plans on Shooting having a Team’s event as stipulated in the Shooting Manual and it was wrong for the Team’s event and their medals to be suddenly withdrawn. He said the medals should be restored and he said the same principle should apply in Women’s Softball. With only two teams competing, both should obtain medals. Finally, he noted the confusion over the governing body for with two rival International Federations claiming control of the sport.

Charles Cali (Nouvelle Caledonie) said that many of the problems being experienced at the Games could have been solved if the Sports Manuals were published six months prior to the Games as stipulated in the Charter. He referred specifically to the errors in the Shooting events listed in the Manual which was only published just prior to the Games. He also said that confusion was caused over the late imposition of an Under 23 age limit in Men’s Football. He said Nouvelle Caledonie’s senior men’s team had been preparing for the Games and were suddenly not able to take part.

Tauhiti Nena (Tahiti Nui) said he agreed with Guam and that the Charter should be respected. He noted that the Chefs de Mission had agreed to restore the medals in Shooting for the Team’s event.

Robert Graham (Cook Islands) said the late publication of the Sport Manuals had caused many problems, including too many surprises in the various Sport Technical Meetings.

The Chairman said that the Council would be strengthening its MOU agreements with each of the International Federations to clarify at a much earlier stage what support they would provide to the staging of the Games and therefore allow the Sport Manuals to be published earlier and with greater accuracy.

Isala Isala (Tuvalu) asked for the Council’s assistance to become a member of FIFA.

The Chairman responded that the Council had taken up the issue of FIFA membership with the IOC, and in particular the difficulty some member countries had in joining the Oceania Football Confederation and the push to have them join the Asian Football Confederation instead. He said the Council opposed members being forced into Asia.

The Chairman then asked the Executive Director to respond to the comments concerning the International Federations and the issues in the Port Moresby program.

The Executive Director said that the Executive Board sympathized with the sentiments expressed by the delegates on the sport issues raised. He said the Council worked closely with the 2015 GOC and the International Federations, but that mistakes were made along the way. He apologized on behalf of the Council and 2015 GOC that the Sport Manuals were late and acknowledged this had caused problems for PGAs.

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Draft Minutes of the Pacific Games Council General Assembly: 12 July 2015 Gateway Hotel, Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea

The Executive Director said that the comments concerning Boxing, Bodybuilding, Football, Shooting and Softball were all legitimate and would be under close consideration during the Sport Program Review. He said the situation in Boxing, with all International Technical Officials brought to the Games from outside the Oceania region and at the expense of the 2015 GOC at AIBA’s insistence one month prior to the Games, was completely untenable and would not be allowed to occur in future Games.

The Executive Director said Bodybuilding’s international governance was a perennial issue for the Council to manage, but that the Council was maintaining control via the South Pacific Bodybuilding Federation which had organised the Port Moresby event.

In relation to Football, the Executive Director agreed that the late decision to designate the Men’s Football event as an Olympic qualification event for Under 23 teams may have been unsettling. However, the Executive Board had to view the larger picture. The request from the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) was based on a crowded calendar in 2015 and the Executive Board wished to protect the ability of PGAs to retain their commitments to travel to Port Moresby. As a result, one PGA member could qualify for Rio 2016 during the Pacific Games, which would be historic. He agreed that for future Games, similar agreements with OFC would have to be made much earlier.

With Shooting, the Executive Director confirmed that the Pistol Team’s event medals would be presented to the athletes but would not be recorded on the medal tally. He acknowledged the error in the Shooting Manual, but said the Executive Board could only be guided by the Charter, which did not list a Team’s event in Pistol. Similarly, with only two Women’s Softball teams competing, gold and silver medals would be awarded but only the gold would stand on the medal tally as per the Charter regulations.

The Chairman thanked the Executive Director for these explanations and reiterated that the Sports Committee would assess each of these issues in its Sports Program Review. At 11.15am, he adjourned the meeting for a tea break and Council photo. At 11.30am, he resumed the meeting and asked the Vice President to complete his presentation.

The Vice President noted that the problems with Boxing had been raised with Dr Mitchell and the IOC President, Dr Thomas Bach, most notably the fact that AIBA now required Oceania boxers to qualify for the Olympic Games via Asia.

The Vice President concluded by thanking the delegates for their feedback on the issues facing the Sports Committee. He then referred the meeting to three amendments to Protocol 7 made by the Executive Board in advance of the 2015 Pacific Games – increasing Softball’s squad size from 14 to 17 players; Volleyball’s from 12 to 14; and reducing Women’s Cricket from 15 to 14 to bring all three sports into alignment with their International Federation’s guidelines. He said the Sports Committee had endorsed these amendments and he presented them, through the Chairman, for ratification.

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Draft Minutes of the Pacific Games Council General Assembly: 12 July 2015 Gateway Hotel, Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea

The Chairman asked if there was any opposition to the Protocol 7 amendments and with none forthcoming he declared them duly ratified. He thanked the Vice President for his report, and then asked the meeting to formally adopt the Sports Committee’s report, which it did unanimously.

The Chairman then asked Ms Frida Delmau, Executive Board Member, to present to the meeting on Women in Sport. Frida Delmau updated delegates on the numbers of female PGA teams by sport, female Chefs de Mission, and female IF Technical Delegates participating in the 2015 Pacific Games. Her report was received by acclamation.

E. Athletes’ Representative Report

Carl Probert (Athletes’ Representative) presented a report of his activities (refer attached PowerPoint presentation), noting his on-going work on the ONOC Athletes’ Commission and assisting PGAs to develop Athletes’ Commissions.

Laurent Cassier (Nouvelle Caledonie) made the observation that the Athletes’ Representative’s work was crucial for the on-going success of the Pacific Games. He noted however that the ONOC Athletes’ Commission had recently gathered all of the NOC Athletes’ Commission representatives in Suva, but that non-NOC members were not able to take part. He expressed the hope that this could be rectified in future.

The Chairman said that the Council was working closely with ONOC to try to incorporate non-NOCs into ONOC’s programs wherever possible.

The Chairman thanked the Athletes’ Representative for his report and the work he had undertaken over the past four years. As the Athletes’ Representative’s term was ending at the Games in Port Moresby, the Chairman conveyed the thanks of the entire Council for his excellent work and the support he had given to the Executive Board in its deliberations. The Chairman wished him the best for his future involvement in sport.

7. ORGANISING COMMITTEE PROGRESS REPORTS

A. Port Moresby 2015

The CEO of the Port Moresby 2015 Pacific Games Organising Committee (2015 GOC), Mr Peter Stewart, presented a short update at the midway point of the 2015 Pacific Games. He began by referring to Frida Delmau’s presentation and noted that the majority of the 2015 GOC Board were women; one of the three Executive Managers was a woman; and the majority of 2015 GOC staff were women. He was very proud of these achievements.

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Draft Minutes of the Pacific Games Council General Assembly: 12 July 2015 Gateway Hotel, Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea

Mr Stewart said that in preparation for the Pacific Games, the 2015 GOC referred to the principles established by the Papua New Guinea Athletes’ Commission. The four key things to deliver for a successful Pacific Games were international standard fields of play; comfortable Games Village accommodation; a good, nutritious food service and reliable transport to training and competition. Everything else was secondary and the 2015 GOC had concentrated its planning on these four items.

Mr Stewart said the 2015 GOC was mostly happy with the way the Pacific Games were unfolding. He said the Opening Ceremony had been a tremendous success, the transport system was working, the crowds were good, and competition was of a high standard. He said the athletes had behaved well and that he was happy the first week of the Games had gone without incident. On the downside, the queues at the dining hall were too long and some venues were not finished in time to be properly tested.

Mr Stewart said the 2015 GOC could not yet rest as the Games still had to be completed but that he had thoroughly enjoyed working with all of the PGAs over the past three years. He thanked them for their excellent support of the 2015 Pacific Games.

Cyrille Mainguy (Vanuatu) thanked the 2015 GOC for waiving their per diem in the wake of Cyclone Pam. This had enabled the Vanuatu PGA to participate fully in the Games.

The Chairman thanked Mr Stewart and the 2015 GOC for the excellent job it had done in organising the 2015 Pacific Games. He said the Council was very pleased with the Games thus far, despite earlier concerns over the readiness of the Games venues. He said PGAs and their athletes were enjoying Port Moresby and the generous hospitality being shown by the people of Papua New Guinea. He thanked the entire 2015 GOC staff and the Papua New Guinea PGA for their hard work in delivering the Games.

B. Vanuatu 2017

Mr Joe Carlo, Vice President of the Vanuatu PGA and CEO of the Vanuatu Organising Committee, presented a progress report (refer attached PowerPoint presentation). He highlighted the on-going relief program in the wake of Cyclone Pam; the upcoming start of the Korman Stadium construction by the Chinese Government; and the likely use of local schools and colleges for the Athletes’ Village.

At its conclusion, the Chairman thanked Mr Carlo for his presentation. He informed delegates that in 2016 they would have an opportunity to assess the facilities and services for the 2017 Pacific Mini Games when Vanuatu hosts the General Assembly.

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Draft Minutes of the Pacific Games Council General Assembly: 12 July 2015 Gateway Hotel, Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea

C. Tonga 2019

Lord Fred Sevele, Chief Executive Officer of the Tonga 2019 Games Organising Committee presented a progress report (refer attached PowerPoint presentation). He said that Tonga hoped to have its venues construction program underway later in 2015 and completed in 2018. A Master Plan had been created, and subsequently endorsed by the PGC Executive Board, which contained a mixture of new and existing venues. The Tongan Government was currently reviewing the Master Plan and associated budgets, and Parliament had already passed two revenue measures to fund the Games.

Lord Sevele said the Games were likely to commence on Saturday 13 or Saturday 20 July 2019, depending on the international calendar for Athletics, Rugby and . He said that Tonga would organise the sports that it had included in its bid, and that it would examine the feasibility of adding Women’s Rugby 7s and Women’s Boxing that had been added to the Council’s compulsory sports program since the 2012 bid. He said Tonga would also revert to the traditional Sunday rest days during the 2019 Games.

Lord Sevele finished his presentation with the message “IO, TE MAU LAVA” - “Yes We Can” and that Tonga would organise a successful 2019 Pacific Games.

The Chairman thanked Lord Sevele for his presentation and wished the Tonga the best as it prepared to take possession of the Council flag at the Closing Ceremony in Port Moresby and progress its preparations for the 2019 Pacific Games.

D. Northern Mariana Islands 2021

Michael White (President, Northern Mariana Islands PGA) informed the meeting that the Audit and Governance Authority members have been appointed, including senior businessman Jerry Tan, the Regional Vice President of the Bank of Guam and the Executive Assistant to the country’s Governor, as well as himself and Secretary-General Rose Igitol from the host PGA.

Michael White said the Audit and Governance Authority would meet in August and select a chairperson for the Games Organising Committee. He said all of the sporting facilities were already built and in place for the Games.

8. ONOC REPORT

The Chairman invited the ONOC President, Dr Robin Mitchell, to update delegates on ONOC’s recent activities.

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Draft Minutes of the Pacific Games Council General Assembly: 12 July 2015 Gateway Hotel, Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea

Dr Mitchell began by thanking the Council for allowing Australia and New Zealand to attend the 2015 Pacific Games and the Council meeting as observers. He said it was an historic achievement to finally have the Oceania sports family together in competition. He said he would meet IOC President Bach in the near future to brief him on this successful aspect of the 2015 Pacific Games, as well as to report back to members on the requests NOCs had made of the IOC President at their meetings in Suva in May.

Dr Mitchell said that Papua New Guinea were to be congratulated for a very successful start to the 2015 Pacific Games. He thanked the Council, the Papua New Guinea PGA and the Port Moresby 2015 Games Organising Committee for supporting ONOC’s activities, particularly the Voices of the Athletes program which was facilitating the election of an athletes’ representative to the Council. He urged all PGAs to keep encouraging their athletes to vote.

Dr Mitchell said he was also pleased to see the strong level of engagement with the International Federations in Port Moresby. He referenced the IOC’s Agenda 2020 and the need to reduce costs by involving the International Federations at the earliest stages of planning for the Games. He said Tokyo 2020 had already saved over $1.5 billion as a result and future Pacific Games Organising Committees should take a careful note.

Looking ahead, Dr Mitchell said ONOC would next meet in in May 2016 and he was delighted that OSFO and PGC would be having their annual meetings at the same time. He said that wherever possible ONOC’s Associate members would be involved in workshops and other ONOC activities. Finally, he reminded NOCs of the upcoming ANOC meeting in Washington and the need for delegates to register early and obtain visas.

Dr Mitchell then invited ONOC Secretary-General, Ricardo Blas, to update the meeting on the Turkmenistan 2017 Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games, where all ONOC members and Associate members were invited to participate.

Ricardo Blas (Secretary-General) said there were 20 sports on the program in Turkmenistan and it was likely that the Oceania countries would stage their delegations through Seoul. He said it was important that NOC leaders also attended these Games.

Ricardo Blas also referred to the upcoming ANOC meeting in Washington and advised NOCs that they could have two delegates travelling to Washington in economy class as there were two hotel rooms available per NOC. He also said that ONOC was working closely with the United States Olympic Committee to be able to stage Oceania athletes in the USOC’s Colorado Springs training centre prior to the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.

Michael White (Northern Mariana Islands) noted that the dates for the Games in Turkmenistan appeared to clash with the Vanuatu Pacific Mini Games.

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The Chairman thanked Dr Mitchell and Mr Blas for the ONOC presentation and said the Council deeply valued its strong relationship with ONOC and the work ONOC did to develop sport in the region.

9. OSFO REPORT

The Chairman invited Ms Yvonne Mullins, Executive Board member of OSFO, to present a report to the meeting.

Ms Mullins thanked the Council for the invitation to OSFO to present at the General Assembly. She conveyed apologies from the OSFO Chairman Kevan Gosper and the OSFO Secretary-General Chet Gray who were unable to travel to Port Moresby.

Ms Mullins said that OSFO wanted to see a confirmed action plan for Australian and New Zealand participation in future Pacific Games, with their inclusion in as many sports as possible so that the Pacific Games could achieve full recognition as the continental Games for the Oceania region.

Ms Mullins noted the strong involvement of non-Olympic sports in both OSFO’s membership and in the 2015 Pacific Games sports program. She said OSFO sympathized with those sports which were not selected in the Pacific Games program, and as such, OSFO wished to have a role in the selection of future Pacific Games sports programs. She noted her own role as the OSFO representative on the PGC Sports Committee as a starting point for OSFO involvement in the development of the future sport program.

Ms Mullins thanked all of the stakeholders in Papua New Guinea, particularly the Port Moresby 2015 Games Organising Committee, for assisting the International Federation Technical Delegates through the visit program and the pre-Games test events. She urged future Games Organising Committees to emulate Papua New Guinea’s approach.

The Chairman thanked Ms Mullins for the OSFO presentation and noted the strong relationship between OSFO and the Council and the mutual cooperation which existed on many levels. He noted OSFO’s position on Australian and New Zealand involvement in the Pacific Games, but reiterated that the 2015 Pacific Games was a trial which needed to be fully evaluated before further steps were agreed to. He asked Ms Mullins to convey the Council’s appreciation to Chairman Gosper and Secretary-General Gray for their support for the 2015 Pacific Games.

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Draft Minutes of the Pacific Games Council General Assembly: 12 July 2015 Gateway Hotel, Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea

10. EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST 2023 PACIFIC GAMES

The Chairman introduced this agenda item by noting that the Council was simply calling for expressions of interests, not actual bids, for the 2023 Pacific Games.

Tauhiti Nena (Tahiti Nui) said that his PGA would bid to host the 2023 Pacific Games. He noted that his father competed when Tahiti first hosted the Pacific Games in 1971 and that he himself competed when Tahiti Nui last hosted the Games in 1995. He said he hoped his own son would compete at a home Games in 2023. He then invited the Tahiti Nui Minister for Sport, the Hon. Rene Temeharo, to elaborate on the plans for the bid.

Minister Temeharo congratulated Papua New Guinea on its achievements thus far in delivering the 2015 Pacific Games and said, like most observers, he had been moved by the incredible spectacle of the Games. He thanked Papua New Guinea for the very warm welcome Tahiti Nui had received.

Minister Temeharo said Tahiti Nui had welcomed the Pacific in 1971 and 1995 and wanted to do so again in 2023. Both of those Games had been a success and 28 years after last hosting the Games, Tahiti Nui would be ready to host the Games again in 2023. A team had already started working on the bid, which would be presented to the Council in 2016. He thanked the Council for the opportunity to present Tahiti Nui’s expression of interest.

Tapasu Leung Wai (Samoa) responded that if Tahiti Nui proposed a zero per diem then all PGAs should immediately endorse Tahiti Nui’s bid.

The Chairman thanked Tahiti Nui for its expression of interest and said that the Executive Director would contact their PGA to assist in the development of their bid.

11. MOTIONS FROM PGAs

The Chairman noted that there had been no notices of motions proposed by PGAs and that the Executive Board had not proposed any constitutional amendments this year.

12. GENERAL BUSINESS

The Chairman invited PGAs to raise any items of General Business.

Ricardo Blas (Guam) sought and obtained leave from the Chairman to present a gift of thanks to Sir John Dawanincura of the Papua New Guinea PGA and to Mrs Emma Waiwai from the Port Moresby 2015 Games Organising Committee for their organisation of the 2015 Pacific Games and for the support they had provided to PGAs.

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Draft Minutes of the Pacific Games Council General Assembly: 12 July 2015 Gateway Hotel, Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea

Patrick Fepuleai (Samoa) raised the issue of athlete eligibility and the case of a Samoan Footballer denied the opportunity to participate in the Games despite holding a Samoan passport and being eligible under FIFA regulations. He said the Council’s Disputes Tribunal process was fair and its decision was in accordance with the PGC Charter; however the Council needed to re-examine the issue of eligibility.

Patrick Fepuleai said the standards of the Pacific Games and its athletes were rising and with Australia and New Zealand now invited to participate, PGAs had to continue to raise the standards of their athletes. International Federation eligibility standards needed to be followed more regularly to assist PGAs to develop better athletes. He said the Charter was a living document and times change, therefore a more inclusive approach to eligibility was required as many Samoan citizens were presently ineligible to compete. He acknowledged that eligibility was a complex issue, but that was no excuse for not making changes for the benefit of the athletes. He asked that the matter be included in the Sport Program Review.

Tapasu Leung Wai (Samoa) expressed support for those comments and referred to the Council’s marketing ambitions. He said marketing required money, and money followed athlete performances and standards. He said if the Council was opening the Pacific Games up to Australia and New Zealand and international norms, then the spirit of openness should be embraced fully. A bigger vision was required for the Pacific Games to be more inclusive and put the Pacific athletes on a better footing for Olympic and Commonwealth Games success. The Pacific Games needed the best athletes.

Billy Young (American Samoa) agreed with Samoa’s position. He said that American Samoa faced a terrible situation because it had no power to issue US passports. That meant at least half of the population, which held Samoan passports, were completely disenfranchised from the Pacific Games.

Joe Rodan (Fiji) said the Council had to be careful not to lose control of the Games and that they must be retained for the Pacific island countries. Australia and New Zealand dominating the Games in future would be very counter-productive to developing future athletes in the Pacific islands. He said the playing field had to remain level.

Helen Brownlee (Australia) asked the Chairman for permission to address the meeting. With permission granted, she said the Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) deeply appreciated the invitation to participate in the 2015 Pacific Games and was thrilled with the warm welcome the team had received in Port Moresby. She said the Australian athletes had enjoyed the Games thus far and were learning a lot about the Pacific and its cultures. She said the AOC selected athletes at the right level to respect the level of competition they would face in Port Moresby rather than dominating it. She hoped this had added value to the competitions and would result in future invitations being forthcoming as the AOC would like to continue its involvement with the Pacific Games.

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Draft Minutes of the Pacific Games Council General Assembly: 12 July 2015 Gateway Hotel, Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea

The Chairman thanked the delegates for their comments. He said that the Sport Program Review to be undertaken by the Sports Committee would examine the issues of eligibility and Australia and New Zealand invitations, amongst other things.

There being no additional business, the Chairman thanked the Papua New Guinea PGA, and the 2015 GOC, for their support in organising the meeting. He thanked the PGA delegates for their deliberations on the agenda items and for supporting the 2015 GOC by developing sport in their own countries and bringing their athletes to the 2015 Pacific Games. He wished all PGAs a very successful second week at the Pacific Games.

The Chairman thanked the observers for their attendance; the Australian and New Zealand Olympic Committees, the International Federation delegates, and also Ms Jan Paterson on behalf of Lord Sebastian Coe, whom he wished well at the upcoming IAAF Congress. He thanked the Secretariat of the Pacific Community interpreters and the Gateway Hotel staff and the 2015 GOC volunteers for assisting with the arrangements. In looking forward to 2016, the Chairman invited all PGAs to lodge submissions with the Council Secretariat for the Sport Program Review and the review of the Charter, and he wished the Tahiti Nui PGA luck in preparing their bid to host the 2023 Pacific Games.

The Chairman advised that the next meeting would be held in May 2016 in Port Vila, following the ONOC General Assembly. He then declared the meeting closed at 1.20pm.

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