Pasifika Sipoti in brief for 26 May

RNZ News

26-05-2025

Team Palau marches for the opening of the 10th Micronesian Games in Majuro.
Photo:
Giff Johnson
Palau Mini Games organising committee chairman Dr Patrick Telle says hosting the event after 20 years is something the people of Palau are looking forward to.
Telle said having teams from 24 countries in Koror, Palau's capital city, will be a boost.
"The whole nation is excited," he said.
"I'm sure from the economic standpoint - although the athletes are staying in the villages and they're on very limited per diems and we're providing meals for them - I'm sure there will be others who go out of their way to check what's available in and around, and what Palau has to offer."
The Mini Games will officially open in Koror on 29 June.
Dr Telle said they understand the level of competition the Games present for local athletes and is hopeful the team can win some medals at the event.
Twenty-four countries are scheduled to compete in 12 different sports.
A 17-year-old Nevada State high school sprint champion could be racing for Samoa at the 2027 Pacific Games.
Jayden 'JT' Thompson won the Nevada senior boy's 100 and 200-metre titles this month.
His dad, Jeremaine Thompson, said his son qualifies to represent Samoa, the Phillipines or the United States of America, through his heritage.
Jayden Thompson stopped the clock at 10.44 seconds in the 100 metres and 21.06s in the 200 metres final, at the Nevada State event.
The Oceania Rugby Under-20s Challenge tournament will feature Canada against the Pacific three teams of Fiji, Samoa and Tonga.
The event will kick off in Nadi, Fiji on Wednesday, 28 May and run until 7 June.
Pacific island teams Fiji and New Caledonia have been drawn in tough pools at the upcoming FIFA Under-17 World Cup.
Fiji is in group D along with Argentina, Belgium and Tunisia, while New Caledonia has Japan, Morocco and Portugal in group B.
Oceania champions New Zealand are in group L with Mali, Austria and Saudi Arabia.
The Under-17 football World Cup will be held in Qatar in November.
Team Papua New Guinea's volleyball campaign at the upcoming Mini Games in Palau has received a timely boost, with a local company sponsoring their team uniforms.
NBC PNG
reports Moni Plus, a company based in Port Moresby, has stepped in to help the volleyball team by funding the purchase of 56 pairs of uniforms from the Philippines.
PNG Volleyball Federation president Edward Aisi said the sponsorship is crucial, with four teams preparing to compete in the men's and women's beach volleyball, plus the men's and women's indoor volleyball.
A student with Tongan heritage has won the 2025 3C2A California State Championship women's shot put.
Jane Seymour Taufa is a sophomore at the College of San Mateo.
Tonga Independent News
reported Taufa threw the shotput 13.98 metres, to claim the state title in her division.
This adds to other titles she has won this year.