This year’s Oceania Championship was participated in by 21 member federations in the Pacific including the Tuvalu whose athletes will compete for the fist time since it was recently granted provisional membership, and the New Caledonia which joined as associate OAA member.
The OAA athletes competed in 120 events in Under 18 and Open Area Championships from June 25 to 28.
In an interview during the banquet at the Minatchom Atdao along Beach Road on the final day of the championship, OAA executive director, Yvonee Mullins said everybody agreed during a meeting of officers that “this one is better than other championships before.”
For her part, Mullins said it is true that the 2008 Oceania Championship on Saipan is better than those she had the opportunity to attend.
The competition she said went too well and the local organizing committee “had been so fabulous.”
In Oceania Championship, she said it is expected to get whole of the thing to go right. And this week, everything went right she said.
From 1 to 10, Mullins rated this year’s event, 9.9. She said NMI is one of the best places in the Pacific, she likes the hospitality of the people, and she hopes to be back in other tournaments.
Kurt C. Barnes co-chairman of the local organizing committee was the first one to share the OAA’s comment to the media.
He said off island OAA officials especially Mullins gave very good assessment of the whole tournament. From the tournament venue, the food and accommodations and even the media coverage went so well, he quoted the OAA officials saying.
The participating member federation of the 2008 Oceania Championship are American Samoa, Australia, Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, French Polynesia, Guam, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Norfolk Island, Northern Marianas Islands, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu.
