OCEANIA WEIGHTLIFTING FEDERATION

Newsletter February 2017

Great News..

It has taken over twelve months, but at the end, the cheaters officially got caught. The Beijing Olympic Silver medal has now reached Samoa. It will be presented to in due course. It is a terrible tragedy, when you have to wait eight years to be rewarded. It is not the same having the medal presented to you eight years later. The euphoria is lost. The lost opportunities are immeasurable. Nevertheless Ele, the Oceania region is extraordinarily proud of you. Your name will always be in the history books as the second Pacific athlete to win an Olympic medal and the first Pacific athlete to win an Olympic medal in weightlifting. Coming up..

NOTHING IN THE WORLD QUITE LIKE IT

Everyone associated to our sport in the Commonwealth, is now fully aware that in order to compete at the 2018 at the Gold Coast, a lifter must qualify. Information regarding this has been sent out to all countries a number of times.

There will be only 15 lifters per category, eligible to compete. With the exception of the women 90kg category and +90kg category where only eight lifters will compete. (in each group)

The final event in which a lifter is able to qualify, will be the 2017 Commonwealth Championships for Senior, Junior and Youth, which will be held at the Gold Coast, , from September 3rd to 9th. This event will be run in conjunction with the Oceania Senior, Junior & Youth Championships. Here are some details regarding this major event.

The program is as follows: • 3rd September 6.00pm - the Verification of Entries (venue: Mercure Hotel) • 4th September 9.00am to 11.30am - the CWF Congress (venue: Mercure Hotel) • 4th September 2.00pm – the OWF Congress (venue: Mercure Hotel) • 4th September 4.30pm - Technical Meeting (venue: Mercure Hotel) • 4th September 7.30pm - Opening Ceremony and Welcome Dinner (venue: Mercure Hotel)

Competition : • Competition on the 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th September. • 7th September Anti- Doping Seminar (venue: Mercure Hotel) Time to be advised. • 9th September @ 7.30pm - Closing Dinner (venue: Mercure Hotel)

Competition Venue: • The Championships will be held at the Carrara Sport & Leisure Centre (CSL) Hall 1. This will also be the weightlifting competition venue for the GC2018 Commonwealth Games. The CSL is currently under construction and is scheduled for completion in the first few months of this year.

Working in close co-operation with the Commonwealth Weightlifting Federation, the Oceania Weightlifting Federation, the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games Corporation and the City of Gold Coast; the Australian Weightlifting Federation promises to deliver an event that is a fitting precursor to the Gold Coast . The weightlifting competition manager for the Commonwealth Games and also the Commonwealth Championships this year, is Mr. Ian Moir.

Entry forms • Entry forms will be sent out in the month of June. These championships will have approximately 40 countries participating and we envisage to have approximately 400 lifters.

Accommodation: Will be at the Mercure Gold Coast Resort in Palm Meadows. Room rates per person per night which will include breakfast, lunch and dinner are: Single AUD$235.00 (USD$160) Twin AUD$175.00 (USD$122) Triple AUD$165.00 (USD$115)

Training Facility: Training will be at the Mercure Hotel with 20 platforms available

Equipment: Equipment will be provided by the 2018 Commonwealth Games.

Weigh – In: All weigh-in will be at the Mercure Hotel

Saunas: Will be available at the Mercure Hotel

Meal Times: Breakfast 7.00am to 10.00am Lunch 12 noon to 3.00pm Dinner 7.00pm to 11.00pm The Mercure Gold Coast resort

Coming up..

Australian International Tournament (Commonwealth Games Qualifying Event) March 17th – 19th 2017

Congratulations to the Australian Weightlifting Federation for organising such a major event in this region. In fact, this event will be the biggest international tournament held in Australia in recent years. There is 241 lifters registered. Sixteen countries will take part. This event includes also the Australian Open Tournament for Senior, Junior and Youth. The event has attracted the gold medallist from the Rio Olympics in the 105kg category Ruslan Nurudinov from Uzbekistan. Also competing will be the world youth champion from Fiji, 17 year old Eileen Cikamatana in the new female category of 90kg. Plus Glasgow Commonwealth Games gold medallists Dika Toua from PNG, David Katoatau from Kiribati, plus silver medallists Mary Opeloge from Samoa, and bronze medallists Francois Etoundi form Australia, Nevo Ioane from Samoa and Apolonia Vaivai from Fiji.

Without doubt this will be a great event. The tournament will be held at the Eleiko Weightlifting stadium, Linda Crescent, Hawthorn, Melbourne.

Past events.. 2016 – YOUTH WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS The 2016 Youth World Championships were held in Penang, . The championships were very successful with 300 competitors taking part and 60 countries participating. The accommodation facilities were magnificent with the Equatorial Hotel being a five star plus hotel. The dining room for all athletes and officials was at the Penang Golf Club which was only 200 metres from the hotel. The training facilities were at the hotel itself which was extremely convenient for all delegations. The competition itself was held at the newly upgraded sports arena SPACE.

The Oceania Region was well represented with lifters coming from Nauru, Australia, New Zealand, and Fiji, The following are the Oceania lifters and their placings at the World Youth in Penang.

WOMEN 48Kg Category: Hailee Jarett - Australia, did not total. 58Kg Category: Sabah Chamoun - Australia placed 9th Total 160Kg 58Kg Category: Stella Hampton - New Zealand placed 15th Total 136Kg 63Kg Category: Charrae Myers-Reynolds -Australia placed 16th Total 159Kg 63Kg Category: Annabelle Harwood -Australia placed 18th Total 153Kg 63Kg Category: Piper Gwyn - New Zealand placed 21st Total 129Kg 69Kg Category: Eileen Cikamatana - Fiji placed 3rd Total 215Kg 69Kg Category: Samantha Hansen - New Zealand placed 15th Total 142Kg +69kg Category: Kannah Andrews -Nahu – New Zealand placed 21st Total 178Kg MEN 62Kg Category: Larko Doguape - Nauru placed 20th Total 215Kg 85Kg Category: Benjamin Ward -Australia placed 19th Total 261Kg 85Kg Category: Zachary Millhouse -Australia placed 21st Total 248Kg

The Opening Ceremony was truly a gala evening with 1,000 guests attending including the President of the IWF, Dr Tamas Ajan and all IWF Board Members. The success story was Eileen Cikamatana from Fiji winning the World Championships in the Clean & Jerk with a lift of 122kg in the 69kg category. She also won bronze in the overall total with 215kg. In addition to this, she won the IWF Best Lifter of the Tournament.

Eileen Cikamatana wins gold in Penang Eileen clean & jerked 128kg in training prior to Penang

EILEEN CIKAMATANA WORLD YOUTH CHAMPION (Clean & Jerk) From 65kg clean & jerk in 2014 to 122kg in 2016. This is the story of Eileen Cikamatana from Fiji, an OTIP student who was discovered in Fiji by Joe Vueti and Peni Tawai. Joe selected her to attend the training camp in New Caledonia in 2014. She moved to the Institute in February of 2016 and within eight months she became the Youth World Champion in the clean & jerk in the 69kg category with a lift of 122kg at the 2016 Youth World Championships held in Penang in October.

OCTOBER - COMMONWEALTH SENIOR, JUNIOR AND YOUTH CHAMPIONSHIPS The Youth World Championships finished on the 25th October and the following day, the Commonwealth Senior, Junior and Youth Championships began, using the same venue, same accommodation, etc. Countries attending the Commonwealth Championships from the Oceania region were: Samoa, Cook Islands, Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, Australia, New Zealand, Kiribati, Fiji and Nauru. Thirty countries in all took part in the Commonwealth. There were some outstanding results with quite a few of our regional countries winning medals. These championships were the first qualification event for the 2018 Commonwealth Games at the Gold Coast. The next Commonwealth Championships will be held at the Gold Coast from the 3rd to 9th September, 2017.

These are the medal winners from the Oceania region at the Commonwealth Championships.

Men Senior: • 56kg – Manueli Tulo – Fiji – bronze medal with a total of 235kg • 85kg – Richard Patterson – New Zealand – silver medal – total 318kg • 85kg – Francois Etoundi – Australia – bronze medal – total 302kg • 94kg – Benjamin Shaw – Australia – bronze medal – total 300kg • 105kg – David Katoatau – Kiribati – silver medal – total 343kg • 105kg – Julius Darakauskas – New Zealand – bronze medal – total 318kg • +105kg – Damon Kelly – Australia – gold medal – total 373kg • +105kg – David Liti – New Zealand – silver medal – total 369kg

Women Senior: • 48kg – Thelma Toua – PNG – gold medal – total 156kg • 53kg - Phillipa Patterson – New Zealand – bronze medal – total 163kg • 58kg – Erica Yamasaki – Australia – gold medal – t69otal 174kg • 58kg – Ulina Sagone – Fiji – bronze medal – total 153kg • 63kg - Seen Lee – Australia – silver medal – total 188kg • 69kg – Eileen Cikamatana – Fiji - silver medal – total 215kg • 75kg – Apolonia Vaivai – Fiji - gold medal – total 208kg • 75kg – Kylie Lindbeck – Australia – silver medal – total 199kg • +75kg – Luniarra Sipaia – Samoa – gold medal – total 243kg • +75kg – Kaitlyn Fassina – Australia – silver medal – total 229kg

Men Juniors: • 69kg – Anthony Taylor – New Zealand – gold medal – total 265kg • 69kg – Ruben Katoatau – Kiribati – bronze medal – total 257kg • 77kg – Cameron McTaggart – New Zealand – silver medal – total 283kg • 77kg – Leo Lark – Australia – bronze medal – total 274kg • 85kg – Don Opeloge – Samoa – bronze medal – total 286kg David Liti – New Zealand , Commonwealth Junior • 105kg – Jackson Roberts-Young – Australia – gold medal – total 300kg Champion. Penang 2016 • 105kg – Montl Tivoli – New Zealand – silver medal – total 291kg • 105kg – Brayden Maea-Brown - New Zealand – bronze medal – total 282kg • +105kg - David Liti – New Zealand – gold medal – total 369kg

Women Juniors: • 58kg – Sabah Chamoun – Australia – gold medal – total 160kg • 58kg - Ulina Sagone – Fiji – bronze medal – total 153kg • 69kg – Eileen Cikamatana – Fiji - silver medal – total 215kg • 75kg – Kanah Andrews-Nahu – New Zealand – silver medal – total 178kg

Men Youth: • 62Kg : Larko Doguape - Nauru - bronze medal - Total 215Kg • 85Kg Benjamin Ward -Australia - silver medal- Total 261Kg

Women Youth: • 58Kg Sabah Chamoun - Australia - gold medal - Total 160Kg • 63Kg Charrae Myers-Reynolds -Australia - silver medal - Total 159Kg • 63Kg Annabelle Harwood -Australia - bronze medal -Total 153Kg • 69Kg Eileen Cikamatana – Fiji - silver medal -Total 215Kg • +69kg Kannah Andrews -Nahu – New Zealand -silver medal- Total 178Kg Sabah Chamoun – Australia, Commonwealth Junior and Youth Champion Penang 2016. WORLD UNIVERSITY CHAMPIONSHIPS The 2016 World University Championships were held in the city of Merida- Mexico. Twenty -two countries took part. From our region, we only had two countries participating. That is, Australia and New Zealand. Our best performance at these championships came from Luke Gardener from Australia competing in the 105kg category. He totalled 290kg, just missing out on a bronze medal and came fourth.

The 2016 OTIP Program 7670 entries

The 2016 OTIP program was a triumph for weightlifting in the region, with 7670 students taking part from 96 schools (4433 boys and 3237girls) in 12 countries

This program is now in its fifth year and it is producing hundreds of new lifters every year, especially in the Pacific Island nations. Once again, each country selected what they considered their best talent and these students were sent to the Oceania Weightlifting Institute in New Caledonia for a training camp. The OTIP training camp concluded on the 18th December. The standard of the students was by far the best we have ever had. The students who were identified, came prepared knowing the sport and thereby making the training camp far more productive. Incredibly in only a few short years, national federations have been able to successfully tap in on this identification program. We have seen students from the OTIP program competing in Oceania Championships, Commonwealth Games, Olympic Youth Games, , and also the Rio Olympic Games.

The students attending the training camp last December were : Feagaiga Stowers- Samoa, Samara Wright -New Zealand , Scofield Sinaka- Papua New Guinea, Simon Van Den Berg-New Zealand.Tiiau Bakaekiri- Kiribati, Timothy Vakuruivalu- Fiji, Joannah Maelanga-Solomon Islands, Benjamin Ward- Australia, Matthew Damches – Australia, Uea Detudamo- Nauru, Dwaine Talaiti - Niue ,Larko Doguape- Nauru

PACIFIC CUP INTERNATIONAL On the 17th December, whilst the OTIP lifters were in New Caledonia, the Pacific Cup International was held at the Oceania Weightlifting Institute. There was a great number of lifters participarting. The best lifter by far was Thelma Toua from Papua New Guinea. Thelma set a new Oceania senior, snatch record of 75kg, a new clean & jerk record of 92kg and a new total record of 167kg.

New South Wales team competing at the Oceania Institute Thelma Toua -PNG sets new Oceania senior record.

Lifters at the 2016 Pacific Cup International held at the Oceania Weightlifting Institute in Mont Dore -New Caledonia

News around the region:

VANUATU The Secretary General of the OWF visited Port Vila, Vanuatu together with Andrew Minogue the CEO of the Pacific Games Council. The reason for the visit to Vanuatu was to assess the set up of weightlifting for the forthcoming Pacific Mini Games in December. Whilst in Port Vila he attended the general meeting of the Vanuatu Weightlifting Federation which was held at the Vanuatu National Olympic Committee headquarters. The new President elected was the Hon Hilton Dunstan former Minister of Sport, whilst the General Secretary is Henry Tavoa, the CEO of the Vanuatu Olympic Committee. The OWF wishes the new President, General Secretary and Board Members a successful term of office.

NAURU Congratulations to the Hon. Marcus Stephen, President of the Oceania Weightlifting Federation on his re-election as President of the Nauru Olympic Committee for the next four years. Congratulations also to Dominic Cain, General Secretary of Nauru Weightlifting, for also being re-elected Secretary General of the Nauru Olympic Committee. The OWF wishes both gentlemen a successful term of office.

Paul Coffa MBE OWF General Secretary