XIV Pacific Games Great Success for the Pacific Games…

IJF News: We thank all the countries from the pacific region for having participated in the the judo competition (September 6-8, 2011) on the occasion of the XIV Pacific Games which were organized in Noumea, New Caledonia (France). The judo tournament, which was organized by the Ligue de Judo de Nouvelle Calédonie, was a great success.During the three days of competition, the athletes from 10 countries participated in the judo event: American Samoa, Fiji, French Polynesia (Tahiti), Guam, New Caledonia, Nauru, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu.

We do want to congratulate all the participants for their really good behavior. The “spirit of judo “constantly remained above all the matches. All the volunteers and the venue were perfectly ready for the event, which was held in a friendly and warm atmosphere and supported by a numerous public as between 1,000 and 1,500 spectators were present every day.

Only the New Caledonia and French Polynesia had the enough skilled referees to work during the games. Therefore, for ethical, numerical and economical reasons, it was necessary to also include referees coming from other countries. We want to thank and congratulate the international referees, who came from New Zealand and Australia, as well as the Tahitian and New Caledonian referees and judges who took part in the competition.

The competition was organized under the umbrella of the IJF rules, represented by John Buckley and all the running of the tournament was led by Elisabetta Fratini, from the IJF IT team. Thanks to her, everything ran smoothly for the benefit of all the participants.

Last but not least, we want to congratulate all the volunteers for the outstanding work that they have produced throughout the event and we also want to thank all the media (particularly the French TV) which fantastically covered the games.