Coco Talanoa — Sports / Page 23

The inaugural rugby league Pasifika Youth Cup 2021 is set to kick off in October with a competition for both Pasifika boys and girls starting from U13s through to U18s.

It's an exciting opportunity for Pasifika and Maori youth to showcase their talent and also represent their respective island nations heritage in this one of a kind tournament.

In 2017, the Warriors added another layer to their development programme with the introduction of the Pasifika Youth Cup which was hosted in association with the New Zealand Maori Rugby League.

At that time the Pasifika Youth Cup featured U16 & U18 teams from NZ Maori, Samoa, Fiji NZ, Cook Islands and Auckland Niue Rugby League.

Fast forward to 2021, the Pasifika Youth Cup will now feature seven Pacific nations.  The Pasifika Youth Cup resurgence came about with conversations between Samoa Rugby League executive Muliaga Brown and Warriors coach Tony Iro who is a Cook Islander.

The team behind the seven nations teams - Aotearoa, Cook Islands, Fiji, Niue, Samoa, Tokelau and Tonga talk here (in the video above) about the upcoming comp.…more

News report via RNZ  & video above via NZ Herald Youtube  - City Kickboxing fighters along with spokesperson Mike Angove and UFC champion Israel Adesanya want to see the law changed on the 'coward punch' after the death of team mate Fau Vake.

A man who admitted punching the head of a young MMA fighter who later died in hospital has been sentenced to six months' home detention, which the victim's friend likens to a Covid restriction, not justice.

Ofa He Mooni Folau, 29, pleaded guilty to two charges of assaulting with intent to injure. He attacked Liufau (Fau) Vake, 25, who later died in hospital of head injuries, and his brother Ika after a night drinking in central Auckland in May this year.

"That's not good enough for being part of an attack that took a man's life," Vake's friend Dan Hooker said outside court.

"Six months, stay at home? That's Covid restrictions," Hooker said, who's also an MMA fighter. "100 percent the laws have to change."

Three others pleaded not guilty over the attack, including one charged with manslaughter.…more

And then there was ONE! 

Solomon Islander Sharon Firisua was the last Pacific Islander representing their home island to compete at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics today in the marathon.

Here's our final wrap up of results for Days 12 - 15 and you can peep the results of our athletes from Day 1-4 here  , Day 5-7 here  and Day 8-11 here.

Cook Islands  

Canoe sprinter Kohl Tamarua-Horton was the final competitor for Team Cook Islands on Wednesday 4th August (Day 12)  

He raced in the Mens 200m sprint and managed to make it through to the Quarter Finals but unfortunately capsized his boat and was unable to finish the race.  He was one of the youngest on the team so we're sure we'll see more of him in the future.

Guam 

On Thursday, Guam wrapped up its competition in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.  All that’s left to do is wait for the Closing Ceremony, in which wrestler Rckaela Aquino will bear the Guam flag.…more

To go along with our guide to who, what, when and where our Pasifika athletes are competing at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games we'll be doing a round up of how they've all been doing in case you missed their event.  Peep the results of our athletes from Day 1-4 here  & Day 5-7 here 

American Samoa 

American Samoan sprinter Nathan Crumpton is more widely known for his Winter Olympics sport of Skeleton racing.  He only decided to try out for the Summer Olympics track and field 100m race when he was on a training break in American Samoa in 2019 and happened to turn on the TV when the Pacific Games were on.…more

To go along with our guide to who, what, when and where our Pasifika athletes are competing at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games we'll be doing a round up of how they've all been doing in case you missed their event.  Peep the results of our athletes from Day 1-4 here 

American Samoa 

Adrian Hoesch and Tyler Paige competed in Sailing in the Men's Two Person Dinghy on Wednesday and again on Thursday.  In races 1 & 2 they placed 19th, in races 3 & 4 they placed 18th and after todays races they are again placed 18th.

The pair will race again on Sunday from about noon NZT and on Monday from about 2.35pm.…more

Samoan athlete Tuva’a Clifton just arrived at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics to compete in the men's sprint canoeing, representing #TeamSamoa 

Tuva'a is competing in 3 events at the Olympics

• Men's Kayak Single 200m
• Men's Kayak Single 1000m
• Men's Kayak Double 1000m

You can watch Tuva'as races this Wednesday 4th of August. He competes in the Men's Kayak Single heat at 12.58 pm NZT and Men's Kayak Double at 2.38 pm NZT.

Before he took off for Tokyo we were able to talk to Tuva'a about his Olympic debut and this is what he had to say: 

How does it feel to be able to say that you're an “Olympian”? 

It's a really cool feeling that sometime in the future I will be able to tell my grandkids that I once competed at the Olympics. But it's also nice to be able to say it after many years of training, and that all that pain during training was not for nothing.…more

Jerry Tuwai grew up in a poor shanty in Fiji playing rugby with plastic bottles. He went on to win the first Olympic medal for his country.

To go along with our guide to who, what, when and where our Pasifika athletes are competing at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games we'll be doing a round up of how they've all been doing in case you missed their event.

ICYMI our Pacific Islands athletes wowed in their traditional wear and team uniforms at the Opening Ceremony parade of athletes.  Four of our Pacific Islands teams made the best dressed lists for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics Opening Ceremony on Friday night.

The Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games has kicked off tonight.  Although these Olympics are getting underway a year later due to the pandemic, they'll still be officially known as the Tokyo 2020 games.

The theme of the games this year is 'United by Emotion' and the opening ceremony will be taking place at the main Olympic stadium which will host athletics and football during the games.

At the Rio Olympics opening ceremony in 2016, our Pacific Islands nations caused quite the stir in more ways than one and we're looking forward to seeing the Pacific Islands teams march in the parade of athletes.  This years ceremony will be different to other years though - due to the pandemic and the recent State of Emergency in Tokyo, there is a total ban on all spectators at most venues, teams have to socially distance themselves from other teams and in some cases members of their own teams.

They'll also be coming out in the Japanese alphabet order (not the english alphabet).…more

Check out the live stream of the 4th annual Steven Adams High School Invitational All Star Game being played at Walter Nash Stadium in Lower Hutt - The best basketball players in the country are selected to play against each other in this invitational match.

The game will start streaming at 3.15pm and will have commentary in Samoan, Tongan, Maori and English!  Watch the english commentary in the video below.

Samoan commentary will be given by PMN Samoa radio hosts Lorenzo Kaisara and Savea Tone Peseta.

Click here to watch the game with Samoan commentary.

Tongan commentary will be given by Isaac Fotu Snr (father of pro basketball players Isaac and Dan Fotu) and Caroline Matamua (Ako Wahine Rugby Educator at NZ Rugby).

Click here to watch the game with Tongan commentary.

Maori commentary will be hosted by Zeb Nicklin.…more