Pacific Mini Games

The Pacific Mini Games are a continental multi-sport event contested by countries and territories located in Oceania. The event has been held every four years since the inaugural games in Honiara, Solomon Islands in 1981. It was known as the South Pacific Mini Games prior to 2009. It is called the 'Mini' games because it is a scaled-down version of the main Pacific Games and is similarly rotated on a four-year basis in the intervening years between the main Games.

Pacific Mini Games

Abbreviation	PMG
First event	1981
Occur every	4 years
Headquarters	Suva, Fiji
President	Vidhya Lakhan

The Mini Games have been hosted by 9 different Pacific Island capitals around 4 countries and 5 territories. The Cook Islands have hosted twice and is scheduled for a third in 2029. Vanuatu and Palau have also hosted two Games. Similarly to the main Games, athletes with a disability are included as full members of their national teams. In each sporting event, gold medals are awarded for first place, silver medals are awarded for second place, and bronze medals are awarded for third place.

Unlike the main Games, there is equal dominance from Pacific Games associations (PGA's). Papua New Guinea, New Caledonia, and Fiji have all ranked first a record 3 times, with Samoa, Nauru, and Tahiti topping the games once.

Concept

Following the success of the main Pacific Games, the Pacific Games council decided to create a smaller version of the games to enable smaller nations and territories to host events and compete against each other. From this came the Pacific Mini Games.

Pacific Games Council

Main article: Pacific Games § Council

The governing body for the mini games is the Pacific Games Council. Much like the main games, the Games council flag is presented to the host nation of the next mini games at the end of every games. As of 2017,^[1] the council has 22 member nations.

Two other nations, Australia and New Zealand, are not members of the council but are invited as observers to the council's general assembly.^[1] These nations participated at the mini games in 2017 and made their main games debut in 2015.^[1]

Editions

1981

1985, 2009, 2029

1989

1993, 2017

1997

2001

2005, 2025

2013

2022

Host cities of the Pacific Mini Games

List of Pacific Mini Games

Games	No.	Host	Games dates / Opened by	Sports	Competitors	Events	Nations	Top nation
	1981	I	Honiara	8 – 16 July 1981 Unknown	5	+600	51	15	New Caledonia
1985	II	Rarotonga	31 July – 9 August 1985 Unknown	6	700	56	16	Papua New Guinea
1989	III	Nuku'alofa	22 August – 1 September 1989 King Tāufaʻāhau Tupou IV	6	832	93	16	Western Samoa
1993	IV	Port Vila	6 – 16 December 1993 Unknown	6		67	15	Fiji
1997	V	Pago Pago	11 – 22 August 1997 Unknown	11	1798	144	19	Nauru
2001	VI	Kingston	3 – 14 December 2001 Unknown	10		97	18	Fiji
2005	VII	Koror	25 July – 4 August 2005 President Thomas Remengesau Jr.	12		170	20	New Caledonia
2009	VIII	Rarotonga	21 September – 2 October 2009 Queen's Rep Sir Frederick Goodwin	15	+1354	144	21	Fiji
2013	IX	Mata Utu	2 – 12 September 2013 French President François Hollande	8		127	22	Papua New Guinea
2017	X	Port Vila	5 – 15 December 2017 President Tallis Obed Moses	14	~2000	173	23+1	New Caledonia
2022	XI	Saipan	17 – 25 June 2022 Governor Ralph Torres	9	1034	144	19	Papua New Guinea
2025	XII	Koror	29 June – 9 July 2025 President Surangel Whipps Jr.	12	~2000	236	23	French Polynesia
2029	XIII	Rarotonga	TBA 2029 TBA	12	TBA	TBA	24 (expected)	TBD

As with the main games, the cost of providing the necessary facilities and infrastructure is a concern to the region's smaller nations. In preparation for the 2009 Games in Rarotonga, despite having hosted the games previously, the local government considered diverting funds from a highway project, and secured a loan for US$10 million from the Chinese government to finance the building of a stadium.^[2][3]

Sports

Further information: Pacific Games § Sports

There are 36 approved sports by the Pacific Games Council updated in 2025. Unlike the main games, the Pacific Mini Games does not have a compulsory sports list. However, 50 percent of the sports selected for a games must be from the compulsory sports list of the PGC. After the 2025 Games in Koror, 28 of the 36 sports have been included at the Mini Games since the inaugural edition in 1981.

Listed are sports already contested at the Pacific Mini Games.

Sport	Discipline	Code & Pictogram		Body	Years	Status
Archery		ARC		World Archery	2001, 2017, 2025
Athletics		ATH		World Athletics	1981–present
Badminton		BDM		BWF	2022
Baseball and softball	Baseball	BBL		WBSC[s 1]	2005, 2022–present
	Softball	SBL			2005, 2025
Basketball	3x3	BK3		FIBA	2017, 2025
	Basketball	BKB			1997, 2005
Bodybuilding		BDB		WBPF	2001
Boxing		BOX		World Boxing[s 2]	1981, 1989–1997, 2009, 2017
Football		FBL		FIFA	1981, 1993, 2017
Golf		GLF		IGF	1985–2001, 2009, 2017–2022
Judo		JUD		IJF	2017, 2025
Karate		KTE		WKF	2017
Lawn bowls		LBW		World Bowls	1985, 2001, 2009
Netball[s 3]		NTB		World Netball	1981–2001, 2009, 2017
Outrigger canoeing	Va'a	VAA		IVF	2005–2013, 2022–present
	Kayak	KYK			2025
Powerlifting		PLF		IPF	1997
Rugby	Sevens	RU7		World Rugby	1997, 2009–2017
Sailing		SAL		World Sailing	1997, 2009–2013
Shooting		SHO		ISSF	2001
Squash		SQU		WSF	2001, 2009
Swimming		SWM		World Aquatics	2005, 2025
Table tennis		TTE		ITTF	2005–2009, 2017, 2025
Taekwondo		TKW		World Taekwondo	2013
Tennis		TEN		ITF	1981–2009, 2017–2022
Touch rugby[s 4]		TRU		FIT	2009
Triathlon		TRI		World Triathlon	2001–2009, 2022–present
Volleyball	Beach	VBV		FIVB	2005, 2013–present
	Indoor	VVO			1997, 2013, 2025
Weightlifting		WLF		IWF	1989, 1997, 2005–present
Wrestling	Freestyle	WRF		UWW	2005, 2025
	Greco-Roman	WRG			2005, 2025
	Beach	WRB			2025
Rugby	Union	RUG		World Rugby	1985	Discontinued
Rugby league	Sevens	RL7		IRL	2009	Discontinued

1. The World Baseball Softball Confederation, which currently governs both baseball and softball, was created by a 2013 merger of two former governing bodies – the International Baseball Federation and the International Softball Federation. Baseball and softball were governed separately at all Pacific Games before 2013.
2. AIBA/IBA was the recognised body of boxing until 2023.
3. Netball is a women's competition only.
4. Touch rugby is an optional sport, however, all three events (men's, women's and mixed tournaments) must be included if the sport is scheduled on a games programme.

Participating nations

Only ten teams have attended every Pacific Mini Games: American Samoa, Cook Islands, Fiji, New Caledonia, Norfolk Island, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, and Vanuatu. This list includes all 22 current PGAs and the two invitational teams, arranged alphabetically. The three-letter country code is also listed for each PGA. Country name changes are explained by footnotes after the nation's name, and other notes are explained by footnotes linked within the table.

Other entries

• IPA. Athletes from Tahiti competed as Independent Athletes in 2017. No official Tahiti team took part in the 2017 Mini Games following the French Polynesian government's decision to boycott the event. A number of Tahitian athletes competed under the banner of the Pacific Games Council.^[4]

Table legend

81		In the table headings, indicates the Games year
•		Participated in the specified Games
H		Host nation for the specified Games
[a]		Additional explanatory comments at the linked footnote
		Nation not a member of the Pacific Games Council during these years
		PGA superseded or preceded by other PGA(s) during these years

PGA	Code	81	85	89	93	97	01	05	09	13	17	22	25	Total
American Samoa	ASA	•	•	•	•	H	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	12
Australia[a]	AUS										•	•	•	3
Cook Islands	COK	•	H	•	•	•	•	•	H	•	•	•	•	12
Micronesia	FSM					•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	8
Fiji	FIJ	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	12
French Polynesia	PYF	•	•	•	•	•	•		•	•		•	•	10
Guam	GUM	•		•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	11
Kiribati	KIR	•	•			•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	10
Marshall Islands	MHL		•					•		•	•		•	5
Nauru	NRU		•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	11
New Caledonia	NCL	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	12
New Zealand[b]	NZL										•		•	2
Niue	NIU		•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•			9
Norfolk Island	NFK	•	•	•	•	•	H	•	•	•	•	•	•	12
Northern Mariana Islands	NMI	•		•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	H	•	11
Palau	PLW					•	•	H	•	•	•	•	H	8
Papua New Guinea	PNG	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	12
Samoa[SAM]	SAM	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	12
Solomon Islands	SOL	H	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	12
Tokelau	TKL								•	•	•		•	4
Tonga	TGA	•	•	H	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	•	12
Tuvalu	TUV							•	•	•	•	•	•	6
Vanuatu	VAN	•	•	•	H	•	•	•	•	•	H	•	•	12
Wallis and Futuna	WLF	•	•	•		•		•	•	H	•	•	•	10
Other entries	Code	81	85	89	93	97	01	05	09	13	17	22	25	Total
Independent PGC Athletes [^]	IPA										^			1

Name change notes

^ SAM: Samoa participated under its former name of Western Samoa (WSM) between 1981 and 1997.

Participation notes

1. ^[a] Australia are not a member of the PGC. They compete as invites.
2. ^[b] New Zealand are not a member of the PGC. They compete as invites.

All-time medal table

This table shows all medals won by a Pacific Games association since the inaugural games in 1981 to the most recent games held in 2025.

Rank	Nation	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1	New Caledonia	255	204	162	621
2	French Polynesia	223	150	134	507
3	Fiji	216	208	202	626
4	Papua New Guinea	204	216	189	609
5	Samoa	160	94	108	362
6	Nauru	69	47	41	157
7	Vanuatu	45	64	64	173
8	Cook Islands	42	52	57	151
9	Australia	40	19	20	79
10	Tonga	36	49	81	166
11	American Samoa	33	37	26	96
12	Northern Mariana Islands	30	33	31	94
13	Solomon Islands	29	79	66	174
14	Kiribati	26	12	20	58
15	Guam	23	28	41	92
16	Palau	17	18	25	60
17	Wallis and Futuna	13	29	36	78
18	Micronesia	12	8	8	28
19	Marshall Islands	10	7	6	23
20	Norfolk Island	7	17	14	38
21	New Zealand	4	10	4	18
22	Tuvalu	3	3	13	19
23	Niue	2	14	7	23
–	Independent PGC athletes	2	1	0	3
24	Tokelau	0	2	2	4
Totals (24 entries)		1,501	1,401	1,357	4,259

See also

• Pacific Games