# 2015 Pacific Games

The 15th Pacific Games, also known as Port Moresby 2015 or POM 2015, was held in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, from 4 to 18 July 2015. It was the fifteenth staging of the Pacific Games as well as the third to be hosted in Port Moresby.
More than 3,700 athletes from the 22 Pacific Games Associations plus first time entrants Australia and New Zealand, took part. With almost 300 sets of medals, the games featured 28 sports, 19 of which are on the 2016 Summer Olympics program. Only men's football was a straight qualifying event for Rio 2016. These sporting events took place in 14 venues in the host city.
The host nation, Papua New Guinea, topped the medal table for only the second time, winning the most golds (88) and most medals overall (217). New Caledonia finished second making it only the third time the French territory had failed to place first. Tahiti finished third. Tuvalu won its first ever gold medal at the games, and the debuting teams from Australia and New Zealand won their first Pacific Games medals including gold.

## Host selection

Five Pacific Island countries expressed interests in hosting the fifteenth edition of the games as soon as the bidding process began. They were American Samoa, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Tonga, and Vanuatu. By March 2009, only three were serious bidders – Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, and Tonga. On 20 September 2009, the Solomon Islands National Olympic Committee President – Fred Maetoloa, in a press statement announced the withdrawal of the Solomons bid following the withdrawal of the Solomon Island government's commitment and support.
On 27 September 2009, the Pacific Games Council, at its meeting coinciding with the 2009 Pacific Mini Games, elected Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea as the host of the 2015 Games. The final vote was 25–22 in favor of Port Moresby over Tonga to host.
2015 Pacific Games bidding results :
| City | PGA | Final Votes |
| Port Moresby | Papua New Guinea | 25 |
| Nukuʻalofa | Tonga | 22 |

## Development and preparation

Preparations for the Games, which Port Moresby was given the honor of hosting in 2009, have taken longer than many had anticipated. The country's ability to host the event in time was uncertain in 2011, according to the PNG Pacific Games organizers. To evaluate the level of the games' preparation, Pacific Games Council President Vidhya Lakhan traveled to Port Moresby on April 26, 2012. On May 2, Lakhan made the announcement that Papua New Guinea will continue to serve as the 2015 Pacific Games host after a week-long presentation by the PNG Pacific Games Venue, Infrastructure and Equipment Committee (VIEC).

### Venues and infrastructure

A total of 14 venues hosted 28 sports in Port Moresby.
Competition venues :
| Venue | Sports | Sports | Capacity |
| Sir John Guise Stadium | Athletics (track and field) Rugby sevens Rugby league nines | Athletics (track and field) Rugby sevens Rugby league nines | 15,000 |
| Sir John Guise Sports Complex (outdoor) | Beach Volleyball Field Hockey | Beach Volleyball Field Hockey | |
| Sir John Guise Stadium (indoor) | Basketball (finals) Netball Powerlifting Weightlifting | Basketball (finals) Netball Powerlifting Weightlifting | 2,000 |
| Port Moresby Racquets Club | Squash Tennis | Squash Tennis | 1,000 |
| Taurama Aquatic Centre | Swimming | Swimming | 2,000 |
| Taurama Indoor Centre | Basketball (preliminary rounds) Karate Taekwondo Volleyball | Basketball (preliminary rounds) Karate Taekwondo Volleyball | 2,500 |
| Bisini Sports Complex (outdoor field) | Cricket Lawn bowls Football (Preliminary rounds) Softball Touch rugby | Cricket Lawn bowls Football (Preliminary rounds) Softball Touch rugby | 10,000 |
| Royal Port Moresby Golf Club | Golf | Golf | |
| Ela Beach and PNGDF Naval Base | Va'a Triathlon (swimming) | Va'a Triathlon (swimming) | |
| Royal Papua Yacht Club (Fairfax Harbour) | Sailing | Sailing | |
| Caritas Technical Secondary School Gym | Body building Boxing Table Tennis | Body building Boxing Table Tennis | 1,100 |
| June Valley Shooting Range | Shooting | Shooting | 500 |
| Sir Hubert Murray Stadium | Football (finals) Triathlon (finish) | Football (finals) Triathlon (finish) | 20,477 |

### Sports Complex

There were two major sporting complexes that played host to many sports. The Sir John Guise complex which hosted nine different sporting codes namely Weightlifting, Powerlifting, Rugby 7s, Rugby league nines, beach volleyball, field hockey, and Athletics. The Bisini sports field was the other sports complex that hosted football, cricket, softball, Touch rugby and lawn bowls.

### Games baton

The 2015 Pacific Games baton was revealed on 23 February 2015 in Port Moresby. The baton was designed and created by Gickmai Kundun, a well known local artist from the Simbu Province. Shaped as an hourglass, the baton depicts a kundu drum which traditionally is used as a communication tool. It (baton) is made out of one of Papua New Guinea's major resource commodity, copper. Kundun said the purpose of the games baton was to unite the people of Papua New Guinea, and the kundu drum was the perfect fit.

#### Games baton relay

On 25 March 2015, in Port Moresby, the Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea, Hon. Peter O'Neill formally launched the Games baton relay. The journey started on March 26 to officially celebrate exactly 100 days till the opening ceremony. Over 150 remote villages, as well as all 22 cities and towns in the 22 provinces, were visited by the baton's tour. The baton paid a special visit to Cairns, Australia, on June 20 to give the sizable Papua New Guinean community a chance to see it firsthand. The relay proceeded for the following five days when the baton landed in the National Capital District (the host province) on June 29.
The baton ended its journey at the opening ceremony on 4 July 2015, where Olympian and Commonwealth weightlifting champion Dika Toua took to the heights of the Sir John Guise Stadium to light the Games Cauldron.

### Volunteers

From over 6,000 volunteer applications received by the chief executive officer for the 2015 games, only 3,500 of this applicants were carefully screened and handpicked during the recruitment phase. The 3,500 volunteers were then divided into 175 teams that worked throughout the games in key functional areas such as games village operations, transport, technology, logistics and translators etc.

## The Games

The official dates of the 2015 Pacific Games were July 4 to 18, however, competitions for Basketball, Football, Table tennis, and Touch rugby began on July 3 (one day earlier).

### Sports

There were 28 sports featured at the 2015 Pacific Games.
2015 Pacific Games Sports Programme :
Athletics (48) (details)
 Basketball (2) (details)
 Beach volleyball (2) (details)
 Bodybuilding (12) (details)
 Boxing (13) (details)
 Cricket (2) (details)
 Field hockey (2) (details)
 Football (2) (details)
 Golf (4) (details)
 Karate (15) (details)
 Lawn bowls (8) (details)
 Netball (1) (details)
 Outrigger canoeing (12) (details)
 Powerlifting (15) (details)
 Rugby league nines (1) (details)
 Rugby sevens (2) (details)
 Sailing (6) (details)
 Shooting (11) (details)
 Softball (1) (details)
 Squash (7) (details)
 Swimming (42) (details)
 Table tennis (11) (details)
 Taekwondo (16) (details)
 Tennis (7) (details)
 Touch rugby (3) (details)
 Triathlon (2) (details)
 Volleyball (2) (details)
 Weightlifting (45) (details) :

### Participating countries

A total of 24 countries took part in the 2015 Pacific Games. This was with the inclusion of Australia and New Zealand for the first time in the history of the Games. The two countries were invited to participate in four sports; sailing, taekwondo, rugby sevens and weightlifting.
The Pacific Games Council said in July 2014 that the participation of the two countries would improve the quality of competition in the Pacific Games. The inclusion of Australia and New Zealand was on a trial basis, with a review scheduled after the Games to determine its success.
* Participating Pacific Games Associations (PGA)
* American Samoa (91)
* Australia (43)
* Cook Islands (132)
* Fiji (481)
* Kiribati (86)
* Guam (148)
* Marshall Islands (10)
* FS Micronesia (44)
* Nauru (130)
* New Caledonia (354)
* Niue (22)
* New Zealand (49)
* Norfolk Island (13)
* Northern Mariana Islands (26)
* Samoa (405)
* Palau (14)
* Papua New Guinea (625)
* Solomon Islands (287)
* Tahiti (273)
* Tonga (236)
* Tuvalu (101)
* Tokelau (1)
* Vanuatu (161)
* Wallis and Futuna (64)

### Calendar

The following table provides a summary of the competition schedule.
    All dates are Papua New Guinea Time (UTC+10)
| OC | Opening ceremony | ● | Event competitions | ● | Olympic qualifying finals | 1 | Event finals | CC | Closing ceremony |
| July | July | 3 Fri | 4 Sat | 5 Sun | 6 Mon | 7 Tue | 8 Wed | 9 Thu | 10 Fri | 11 Sat | 12 Sun | 13 Mon | 14 Tue | 15 Wed | 16 Thu | 17 Fri | 18 Sat | Events |
| Ceremonies | Ceremonies | | OC | | | | | | | | | | | | | | CC | |
| Athletics | Athletics | | | | | | | | | | | 5 | 11 | 7 | 14 | 9 | 2 | 48 |
| Basketball | Basketball | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | 2 | | | | | | | 2 |
| Beach volleyball | Beach volleyball | | | | | | | | | | | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | 2 | 2 |
| Bodybuilding | Bodybuilding | | | | | | | | | | | 12 | | | | | | 12 |
| Boxing | Boxing | | | | | | | | | | | | ● | ● | ● | 3 | 10 | 13 |
| Cricket | Cricket | | | | ● | ● | | ● | ● | 1 | | ● | ● | ● | | ● | 1 | 2 |
| Field hockey | Field hockey | | | | | | | | | | | ● | ● | | ● | ● | 2 | 2 |
| Football | Football | ● | | ● | ● | ● | ● | | ● | ● | ● | ● | | ● | 1 | 1 | | 2 |
| Golf | Golf | | | | | | | | | | | | | ● | ● | ● | 4 | 4 |
| Karate | Karate | | | | | | | | | | | 10 | 7 | | | | | 17 |
| Lawn bowls | Lawn bowls | | | | | | | | | | | ● | ● | 4 | ● | ● | 4 | 8 |
| Netball | Netball | | | | | | | | | | | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | 1 | 1 |
| Outrigger canoeing | Outrigger canoeing | | | | 4 | 4 | | | 2 | 2 | | | | | | | | 12 |
| Powerlifting | Powerlifting | | | | | | | ● | 15 | | | | | | | | | 15 |
| Rugby league nines | Rugby league nines | | | | | | | | | ● | 1 | | | | | | | 1 |
| Rugby sevens | Rugby sevens | | | | | | ● | ● | 2 | | | | | | | | | 2 |
| Sailing | Sailing | | | | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | 6 | | | | | | | | 6 |
| Shooting | Shooting | | | | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3 | | | | | | | | 11 |
| Softball | Softball | | | | | | | | | | | | | ● | ● | 1 | | 1 |
| Squash | Squash | | | | ● | ● | ● | 2 | ● | ● | | ● | 2 | ● | 2 | 1 | | 7 |
| Swimming | Swimming | | | | 7 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 2 | | | | | | | 42 |
| Table tennis | Table tennis | ● | ● | ● | 2 | ● | 5 | 2 | 2 | | | | | | | | | 11 |
| Taekwondo | Taekwondo | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 8 | 8 | 2 | 18 |
| Tennis | Tennis | | | | ● | ● | ● | 2 | ● | ● | | ● | ● | ● | 3 | 2 | | 7 |
| Touch rugby | Touch rugby | ● | ● | ● | ● | 2 | ● | ● | 1 | | | | | | | | | 3 |
| Triathlon | Triathlon | | | 3 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 3 |
| Volleyball | Volleyball | | | | | | | | | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | 2 | 2 |
| Weightlifting | Weightlifting | | | 12 | 12 | 12 | 9 | | | | | | | | | | | 45 |
| Total events | Total events | | | 15 | 27 | 26 | 22 | 15 | 29 | 19 | 5 | 27 | 29 | 11 | 28 | 25 | 30 | 299 |
| Cumulative total | Cumulative total | | | 15 | 42 | 68 | 90 | 105 | 134 | 153 | 158 | 185 | 205 | 216 | 244 | 269 | 299 | 299 |
| July | July | Fri 3 | Sat 4 | Sun 5 | Mon 6 | Tue 7 | Wed 8 | Thu 9 | Fri 10 | Sat 11 | Sun 12 | Mon 13 | Tue 14 | Wed 15 | Thu 16 | Fri 17 | Sat 18 | Events |

### Medal table

Host nation Papua New Guinea topped the overall medal table for only the second time ever. It was also the third Pacific Games in history where New Caledonia had failed to finish first.

#### Key

Host nation
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
| 1 | Papua New Guinea* | 88 | 69 | 60 | 217 |
| 2 | New Caledonia | 60 | 50 | 56 | 166 |
| 3 | French Polynesia | 39 | 34 | 41 | 114 |
| 4 | Fiji | 33 | 45 | 37 | 115 |
| 5 | Samoa | 17 | 23 | 11 | 51 |
| 6 | Australia | 17 | 19 | 11 | 47 |
| 7 | Nauru | 7 | 10 | 5 | 22 |
| 8 | Solomon Islands | 7 | 6 | 15 | 28 |
| 9 | Tonga | 7 | 1 | 9 | 17 |
| 10 | Cook Islands | 6 | 7 | 15 | 28 |
| 11 | Guam | 3 | 3 | 7 | 13 |
| 12 | Kiribati | 3 | 1 | 5 | 9 |
| 13 | American Samoa | 3 | 1 | 4 | 8 |
| 14 | Micronesia | 3 | 1 | 0 | 4 |
| 15 | Vanuatu | 2 | 8 | 12 | 22 |
| 16 | Norfolk Island | 2 | 3 | 2 | 7 |
| 17 | New Zealand | 1 | 9 | 10 | 20 |
| 18 | Wallis and Futuna | 1 | 1 | 5 | 7 |
| 19 | Tuvalu | 1 | 0 | 3 | 4 |
| 20 | Niue | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 20 | Palau | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 22 | Marshall Islands | 0 | 0 | 5 | 5 |
| 23 | Northern Mariana Islands | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 23 | Tokelau | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Totals (24 entries) | Totals (24 entries) | 300 | 293 | 315 | 908 |

## Ceremonies
### Opening ceremony

The opening ceremony was held at the Sir John Guise Stadium in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, between 18:00 and 22:00 (GMT+10), on 4 July 2015. The Head of the Commonwealth and Queen of Papua New Guinea, Queen Elizabeth II, was represented by her son, Prince Andrew, Duke of York. Airleke Ingram was its artistic director, with executive producer being Merryn Hughes from the Makoda Productions. Live musical performers included Jamie-Lee Chan, Jagarizzar, with Ngaire Joseph, and duo group Twin Tribe who performed Winds of Change as the closing act. A special performance by Sir George Telek and a medley from Papua New Guinea's all-time music greats - the Paramana Strangers, Pati Potts Doi, and Tom Larry.

#### Parade of nations

As per games tradition, each PGA paraded into the arena for the opening ceremony with each delegation being led by a flag bearer from their respective teams. Following tradition, the host of the previous games, New Caledonia, enters first followed by the rest of the participating PGA's in alphabetical order. The host nation of Papua New Guinea enters last. Each nation was preceded by a placard bearer carrying a sign with the country's name.
Below is a list of parading countries and their announced flag bearer, in the same order as the parade. This is sortable by country name, flag bearer's name, or flag bearer's sport.
| Order | Nation | Flag bearer | Sport |
| 1 | New Caledonia | | |
| 2 | American Samoa | | |
| 3 | Australia | Nicole Beck | Rugby sevens |
| 4 | Cook Islands | Tereapii Tapoki | Athletics |
| 5 | Federated States of Micronesia | Manuel Minginfel | Weightlifting |
| 6 | Fiji | Apolonia Vaivai | Weightlifting |
| 7 | Guam | Jagger Stephens | Swimming |
| 8 | Kiribati | David Katoatao | Weightlifting |
| 9 | Marshall Islands | | |
| 10 | Nauru | Itte Detenamo | Weightlifting |
| 11 | New Zealand | | |
| 12 | Niue | | |
| 13 | Norfolk Island | Kevin Coulter | Shooting |
| 14 | Northern Mariana Islands | | |
| 15 | Palau | Stevick Patris | Weightlifting |
| 16 | Samoa | Ele Opeloge | Weightlifting |
| 17 | Solomon Islands | Jenly Tegu Wini | Weightlifting |
| 18 | Tahiti | | |
| 19 | Tokelau | Volunteer | n/a |
| 20 | Tonga | | |
| 21 | Tuvalu | | |
| 22 | Vanuatu | | |
| 23 | Wallis and Futuna | | |
| 24 | Papua New Guinea | Linda Pulsan | Powerlifting |

## Marketing
### Mascot

The official mascot for the 2015 games, 'Tura the Kokomo', was designed by a 13-year-old boy named Taka Seigori from Tubuseria, a motuan village - located 30 minutes drive from Port Moresby. 'Tura the Kokomo' depicts a modern, cheeky and funny Hornbill - known in Papua New Guinea as a 'Kokomo'. The bird is known to possess the attributes of friendliness and cheekiness. Colours seen on the crown of 'Tura the Kokomo' are the colours of the 2015 Pacific Games logo.

### Sponsors

| Official Games Sponsor | Bank South Pacific (BSP) |
| Games Baton Relay Sponsor | Oil Search |
| Platinum Sponsors | OK Tedi Mining, Telikom PNG, PNG Power, National Gaming Control Board (NGCB), Puma Energy, SP Brewery |
| Gold Sponsors | MRDC, Daltron, Brian Bell Homecentres, Applus Velosi, Fuji Xerox, Air Niugini, Petromin PNG Holdings Limited, Emtek Multimedia, Coca-Cola, Steamships |
| Silver Sponsors | Moore Printing, Hertz, MMI Pacific Insurance |
| Supporting Sponsor | PNG Ports |