The flag bearer of Tuvalu, Etimoni Timuani (sprinter), at the opening ceremony of the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.

Sport is an important part of Tuvaluan culture, which sporting culture is based on traditional games and athletic activities and the adoption of some of the major international sports of the modern era.

Girls Playing volleyball on Funafuti airport
Men playing volleyball on Funafuti airport
Young Tuvaluans playing rugby on the Funafuti airstrip

The popular sports in Tuvalu include association football, futsal, volleyball, handball, Badminton, Table tennis, Lawn Tennis, basketball and rugby union. Tuvalu has sports organisations to support local competitions and the participation of Tuvalu in international competitions, including the Tuvalu Tennis Association, Tuvalu Table Tennis Association, Tuvalu National Badminton Association, Tuvalu National Football Association, Tuvalu Basketball Federation, Tuvalu Rugby Union, Tuvalu Weightlifting Federation and Tuvalu Powerlifting Federation. Since 1979 Tuvalu has participated in the Pacific Games and the Pacific Mini Games. Tuvalu first participated in the Commonwealth Games in 1998, at the Olympic Games in 2008, and at the World Championships in Athletics in 2009. The Tuvalu Athletics Association is the governing body for the sport of athletics in the Tuvalu,[1][2] and administers Tuvaluan records in athletics.

Asenate Manoa represented Tuvalu at the 2008 Summer Olympics, at the 2009 World Championships & 2011 World Championships and at the 2012 Summer Olympics in the woman's 100 metres sprint. Manoa represented Tuvalu in the sport of powerlifting at the Pacific Games 2015 and won a bronze medal in the 72 kg Female category.[3] She also participated in the women's long jump event at the 2017 Pacific Mini Games.[4] She was the first woman to represent Tuvalu at the Olympics.[5]

As Tuvalu is an archipelago of 9 islands, there are logistic complications in arranging sporting events on Funafuti, which is the capitol of Tuvalu. A major sporting event is the "Independence Day Sports Festival" held annually on Funafuti on 1 October. The most important sports event within the country is arguably the Tuvalu Games, which are held yearly since 2008 in April, when participants from each island travel on the inter-island passenger ship to Funafuti to participate in track and field events, table tennis, badminton and other games.[6]

Funafuti has the largest population of all the islands of Tuvalu, which includes large communities who have migrated from the outer islands. The football clubs in the Tuvalu A-Division all share the same home ground - Tuvalu Sports Ground – as it is the only football field in Tuvalu. The football clubs are based on the communities of the 8 major islands of Tuvalu, with the rivalry between these 8 teams being maintained by each having a ‘home’ island. The football teams also provide an opportunity for talent in other sports to be identified, such as sprinters who are sent to represent Tuvalu in the 100 metres sprint events.

The limited land available for sports facilities results in a limited number of sports available in which to participate, which are sports that can be organised on available open space or indoor venues, such as table tennis, badminton, weightlifting and powerlifting.

Due to the limited open space on Funafuti, the runway of Funafuti International Airport is used as a common area for social games and sports activities, when not in use.[7]

The traditional sports of Tuvalu

The traditional sports in the late 19th century were foot racing, lance throwing, quarterstaff fencing and wrestling, although the Christian missionaries disapproved of these activities.[8]

A traditional sport played in Tuvalu is kilikiti,[9] which is similar to cricket.[10] A popular sport specific to Tuvalu is Te ano (The ball), which is played with two round balls of 12 cm (5 in) diameter.[11][12] Te ano is a traditional game that is similar to volleyball, in which the two hard balls made from pandanus leaves are volleyed at great speed with the team members trying to stop the ball hitting the ground.[13]

Rugby Union and Rugby Sevens

Rugby union is a developing sport in Tuvalu. Sevens rugby was first introduced to Tuvalu in 2007.[14] The Tuvalu national rugby sevens team (Tuvalu 7s) participates in the Rugby Sevens competitions at the Pacific Games and the Oceania Sevens Championship.

Football in Tuvalu

Okilani Tinilau in action against Vanuatu (2011). Tinilau also represented Tuvalu at the 2008 Summer Olympics in the 100 metres sprint

Football in Tuvalu is played at club and national team level. The Tuvalu national football team trains at the Tuvalu Sports Ground in Funafuti and competes in the Pacific Games.

The Tuvalu National Football Association is an associate member of the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) and is seeking membership in FIFA.[15][16]

The Tuvalu national futsal team participates in the Oceanian Futsal Championship.

Tuvalu at the Pacific Games and the Pacific Mini Games

At the 2013 Pacific Mini Games, Tuau Lapua Lapua won Tuvalu's first gold medal in an international competition in the weightlifting 62 kilogram male snatch. (He also won bronze in the clean and jerk, and obtained the silver medal overall for the combined event.)[17]

In 2015, Telupe Iosefa received the first gold medal won by Tuvalu at the Pacific Games in the powerlifting 120 kg male division.[18][19][20]

Tuvaluans have won medals at the Pacific Games:

Tuvalu at the Commonwealth Games

Tuvalu first participated in the Commonwealth Games in 1998, when a weightlifter attended the games held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.[33] Two table tennis players attended the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester, England;[33] Tuvalu entered competitors in shooting, table tennis and weightlifting at the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, Australia;[33] three athletes participated in the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi, India, entering the discus, shot put and weightlifting events;[33] and a team of 3 weightlifters and 2 table tennis players attended the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.

Tuvalu sent a team of four to the Gold Coast XXI Commonwealth Games in 2018, comprising Karalo Maibuca (men's 100 metres),[34] Imo Fiamalua (men's javelin throw),[35] Kalton Melton and Tulimanu Vaea (men's table tennis doubles).[36]

Tuvalu's team at the Birmingham XXII Commonwealth Games consisted of Karalo Maibuca (men's 100 metres), Ampex Isaac and Saaga Malosa (men's beach volleyball), Leatialii Afoa (lightweight boxing) and Fiu Tui (middleweight boxing).[37]

Tuvalu at the Olympic Games

Etimoni Timuani played for the Tuvalu National Football Team at the 2011 Pacific Games. Timuani also represented Tuvalu at the 2016 Summer Olympics in the 100 metres sprint

The Tuvalu Association of Sports and National Olympic Committee (TASNOC) was recognised as a National Olympic Committee in July 2007. Tuvalu entered the Olympic Games for the first time at the 2008 Summer Games in Beijing, China, and was represented by weightlifter and two athletes in the men's and women's 100 metres sprint. Both Okilani Tinilau and Asenate Manoa set national records in the 100 metres, with times of 11.48 and 14.05 respectively.[38][39] They were both eliminated in the first heat.[40] Logona Esau finished 21st in the men's −69 kg competition.[41]

A team with athletes in the weightlifting and men's and women's 100 metres sprint also represented Tuvalu at the 2012 Summer Olympics.[42] Tuau Lapua Lapua finished the highest of the Tuvaluan competitors with a 12th-place finish in the Men's −62 kg event, finishing with a score of 243.[43] Tavevele Noa and Asenate Manoa were both eliminated in the first heats of the 100 metres, and Manoa set a national record in the women's 100 metres.[44]

Etimoni Timuani was the sole representative of Tuvalu at the 2016 Summer Olympics in the 100m event.[45]

Karalo Maibuca and Matie Stanley represented Tuvalu at the 2020 Summer Olympics in the 100m events.[46][47]

Tuvalu at the World Championships in Athletics

Tuvaluan athletes have also participated in the men's and women's 100 metres sprint at the World Championships in Athletics from 2009. The sprinters have set Tuvaluan records and personal best times, but have not proceeded beyond the preliminary heats.

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Tuvalu Athletics Association, IAAF, retrieved January 28, 2014
  2. ↑ TUVALU ATHLETICS ASSOCIATION, Oceania Athletics Association, retrieved January 28, 2014
  3. ↑ "Powerlifting 72kg Female". Pacific Games 2015. 9 July 2015. Retrieved 11 July 2015.
  4. ↑ "Results - Monday: Pacific Mini-Games 11/12/17 to 14/12/17" (PDF). OAA. Retrieved 24 July 2021.
  5. ↑ "First female competitors at the Olympics by country". Olympedia. Retrieved 14 June 2020.
  6. ↑ "The Final Day of the Tuvalu Games 2010". Te Fale o Hamoa. 20 June 2010. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 31 October 2012.
  7. ↑ "A plane landing at Tuvalu's tiny airport in Funafuti in 2013". PT&I Video Hosting. 2013. Archived from the original on 2021-12-15. Retrieved 1 January 2015.
  8. ↑ Hedley, Charles (1896). "General Account of the Atoll of Funafuti" (PDF). Australian Museum Memoir. 3 (2): 1–72. doi:10.3853/j.0067-1967.3.1896.487.
  9. ↑ Squires, Nick (20 March 2006). "South Seas war club cricketers take a beating from football" – The Telegraph. Retrieved 10 September 2021.
  10. ↑ Squires, Tony (1 April 2012). "Testing time for tiny Tuvalu". BBC News. Retrieved 31 October 2012.
  11. ↑ Mallon, Sean (1 October 2013). "A cross between volleyball and murderball: Te ano, the national game of Tuvalu". Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa. Retrieved 4 September 2021.
  12. ↑ "Te Ano". lonelyplanet.com. 2021. Retrieved 4 September 2021.
  13. ↑ Panapa, Tufoua (2012). "Ethnographic Research on Meanings and Practices of Health in Tuvalu: A Community Report" (PDF). Report to the Tuvaluan Ministries of Health and Education: Ph D Candidate Centre for Development Studies – "Transnational Pacific Health through the Lens of Tuberculosis" Research Group. Department of Anthropology, The University of Auckland, N.Z. p. 19, footnote 4. Retrieved 6 January 2018.
  14. ↑ Pareti, Alipate (10 November 2023). "The tides turn for rugby 7s in Tuvalu". Islands Business. Retrieved 18 November 2023.
  15. ↑ "Tuvalu eye place in football family". FIFA. Archived from the original on July 18, 2012. 22 September 2008
  16. ↑ Frew, Craig (9 December 2013). "Tuvalu still dreams of joining Fifa's world football family". BBC Scotland. Retrieved 10 December 2013.
  17. ↑ "Sport: Tuvalu make history at Mini Games". Radio New Zealand International. 3 September 2013. Retrieved 21 July 2015.
  18. ↑ Morgan, Liam (10 July 2015). "Tuvalu claim first-ever Pacific Games gold medal as Samoa and Nauru share Port Moresby 2015 powerlifting spoils". Pacific Games 2015. Retrieved 16 July 2015.
  19. ↑ "Powerlifting 120kg Male". Pacific Games 2015. 10 July 2015. Retrieved 11 July 2015.
  20. ↑ "Sport: Tuvalu wins first ever Pacific Games gold". Radio New Zealand International. 11 July 2015. Retrieved 12 July 2015.
  21. ↑ "Tuvalu Earns Silver at South Pacific Games, Apia, Samoa". tuvaluislands.com. 29 August 2007. Retrieved 21 July 2015.
  22. ↑ "Weightlifting Clean & Jerk 69kg Male". 2007 South Pacific Games - Weightlifting. 27 August 2007. Retrieved 21 July 2015.
  23. ↑ "Heavy 91kg". 2007 South Pacific Games - Boxing. 8 September 2007. Retrieved 21 July 2015.
  24. ↑ "XIV. PACIFIC GAMES (09/05/2011 - NCL: Noumea)". Olystats. 2011. Archived from the original on 21 July 2015. Retrieved 21 July 2015.
  25. ↑ "Powerlifting 120kg Male". Pacific Games 2015. 10 July 2015. Retrieved 11 July 2015.
  26. ↑ "Powerlifting 72kg Female". Pacific Games 2015. 9 July 2015. Retrieved 21 July 2015.
  27. ↑ "Powerlifting 84kg Female". Pacific Games 2015. 10 July 2015. Retrieved 21 July 2015.
  28. ↑ "Boxing Heavy-weight 82-91kg Male". Pacific Games 2015. 17 July 2015. Retrieved 21 July 2015.
  29. ↑ "Result: Table Tennis, Mens Seated Singles". Samoa 2019 Pacific Games - Government of Samoa. 20 July 2019. Retrieved 27 July 2019.
  30. ↑ "Geraldine Panapasa, 2019 Pacific Games: Hawaii scoops gold for Tuvalu". Wansolwara - the online publication of USP's journalism programme. 20 July 2019. Retrieved 27 July 2019.
  31. ↑ "Result: Powerlifting, Mens Up to 120 kg". Samoa 2019 Pacific Games - Government of Samoa. 20 July 2019. Retrieved 27 July 2019.
  32. ↑ "Result: Boxing, Mens Middle Weight 75kg". Samoa 2019 Pacific Games - Government of Samoa. 20 July 2019. Retrieved 27 July 2019.
  33. 1 2 3 4 "CGF – Tuvalu". Commonwealth Games Federation. Archived from the original on 29 July 2007. Retrieved 15 May 2014.
  34. ↑ "Karalo Maibuca". 2018 Commonwealth Games. Retrieved 24 July 2021.
  35. ↑ "Imo Fiamalua". 2018 Commonwealth Games. Retrieved 24 July 2021.
  36. ↑ "Results: men's 100m Round 1 - Heat 9". Results: table tennis - 2018 Commonwealth Games. Retrieved 24 July 2021.
  37. ↑ Webster, Andrew (30 July 2022). "'I am from Tuvalu and my country is going to sink': Comm Games team you should be backing". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 30 July 2022.
  38. ↑ Sotiriadou, Popi; Bosscher, Veerle De (2013). Managing High Performance Sport. Routledge. p. 39. ISBN 9780415671958. Archived from the original on 7 October 2017.
  39. ↑ Mitchell, Kevin (24 August 2008). "Games for all as Britain shines". theGuardian. Archived from the original on 25 August 2008. Retrieved 7 October 2017.
  40. ↑ "Tuvalu Olympic Athletes Finish Competition Proudly". 16 August 2008. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 7 October 2017.
  41. ↑ "Logona Esau". Sports-reference.com. Archived from the original on 13 December 2012. Retrieved 7 August 2012.
  42. ↑ "Tuvalu Philatelic Bureau Newsletter (TPB: 02/2012)". London 2012 – Tuvalu in the 30th Olympiad of the Modern Era. 7 August 2012. Retrieved 7 March 2013.
  43. ↑ "London 2012 62kg featherweight men - Olympic Weightlifting". International Olympic Committee. Archived from the original on 26 March 2017. Retrieved 7 October 2017.
  44. ↑ "Women's 100 metres". london2012.com. Archived from the original on 31 May 2013. Retrieved 7 October 2017.
  45. ↑ "The Underdogs: 15 Olympic Athletes That Could Shock the World". Rolling Stone. 5 August 2016. Retrieved 5 August 2016.
  46. ↑ "Karalo Hepoiteloto Maibuca". Tokyo 2020. 2020. Archived from the original on 15 August 2021. Retrieved 28 July 2021.
  47. ↑ "Matie Stanley". Tokyo 2020. 2020. Archived from the original on 2 August 2021. Retrieved 28 July 2021.
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