2011 PACIFIC GAMES DISPUTES TRIBUNAL APPOINTMENT

New Zealand barrister, Tim Castle, has been appointed Chairman of the Disputes Tribunal for the 2011 Pacific Games to be held in New Caledonia from 27 August until 10 September.

The Pacific Games are a four yearly event for the following 22 countries and territories ranging from the north to the south of the Pacific Ocean:

American Samoa, Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji Islands, Guam, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, New Caledonia, Niue, Norfolk Island, Northern Mariana Islands, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tahiti, Tokelau, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, and Wallis & Futuna.

At the 2011 Games, the 27 sports in which athletes from all 22 countries and territories will compete include:

Compulsory Athletics, Basketball, Beach Volleyball, Football, Golf, Rugby 7s, Swimming, Table Tennis, Tennis, Va’a (Outrigger Canoeing), Volleyball, Weightlifting

Optional Archery, Badminton, Baseball, Bodybuilding, Boxing, Cricket, Judo, Karate, Powerlifting, Sailing, Shooting, Squash, Surfing, Taekwondo, Triathlon

The Pacific Games are considered to be key to the international competitive prospects of athletes from the countries of the Pacific as a stepping stone to international competitions, such as the Commonwealth Games and even the Olympic Games.

The Pacific Games, formerly known as the South Pacific Games, are held in different nations of the Pacific each four years. In the intervening two years the Pacific Mini Games are held, again as part of the potential stepping stone progress athletes can make from this region.

Several years ago Tim Castle was intimately involved in redesigning and redrafting new constitutional protocols for the Pacific Games Council, including the crucial eligibility 2 rules and regulations governing rights of participation across many small island nations. For family or employment reasons athletes of the Pacific move, work, train and live in various countries, even gain residency there, particularly where work is available away from the countries of their birth. Special eligibility rules were designed to meet these particular circumstances affecting the peoples of the South Pacific.

In a statement issued today by Andrew Minogue, Executive Director of the Pacific Games Council based in New Caledonia, the Council recognised the ex