Related Research Articles
The Davis Cup is the premier international team event in men's tennis. It is run by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) and is contested annually between teams from over 140 competing countries. It is described by the organisers as the "World Cup of Tennis", and the winners are referred to as the World Champions. The competition began in 1900 as a challenge between Great Britain and the United States. By 2023, 155 nations entered teams into the competition.
The OFC Nations Cup is an international association football tournament held among the OFC member nations. It was held every two years from 1996 to 2004; before 1996 there were two other tournaments held at irregular intervals, under the name Oceania Nations Cup. No competition was held in 2006, but in the 2008 edition, which also acted as a qualification tournament for the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup and for a play-off for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, the New Zealand national football team emerged as winners.
The Fiji national football team is Fiji's national men's team and is controlled by the governing body of football in Fiji, the Fiji Football Association. The team plays most of their home games at the HFC Bank Stadium in Suva.
The New Caledonia national football team is the national team of New Caledonia and is controlled by the Fédération Calédonienne de Football. Although they were only admitted to FIFA in 2004, they have been participating in the OFC Nations Cup since its inception. They have been one of this relatively small region's strongest teams, finishing second in 2008 and 2012, and third in 1973 and 1980. They were the top ranked OFC nation at number 95 in September 2008, making them only the fourth country from the confederation to have reached the global top 100.
The Tonga national rugby league team represents Tonga in rugby league football. They are currently the second ranked team in the world. The team was formed to compete in the 1986 Pacific Cup, and have competed at six Rugby League World Cups, starting in 1995 and continuing consecutively until the most recent tournament. Their best result was at the 2017 Rugby League World Cup, where they were semi-finalists.
The Tahiti national rugby union team is a third tier rugby union team, representing the island of Tahiti in French Polynesia, an overseas collectivity of France. They first played in 1971 and have played numerous games to date, most against rivals Cook Islands and several against Niue. Other games have been played against Samoa, Wallis and Futuna, Papua New Guinea and Tonga. France played a match against Tahiti at the end of their 1979 tour and won 92–12. Plans to have annual "test" match series against Pacific island neighbours, New Caledonia have been put on hold, due to time, availability, finances, and coaching and refereeing resources. They have yet to qualify for the Rugby World Cup. Rugby union in Tahiti is administered by the Fédération Tahitienne de Rugby de Polynésie Française. Currently, players who have represented or played for the Tahiti national rugby team, are eligible to represent France. However, playing at a professional level can only enable this. At present there are several Tahitian professional rugby players abroad in France's Top 14 and Pro D2 professional competition.
The Tuvalu national football team is the international football team of Tuvalu. Football in Tuvalu is played at the club and international level. The Tuvalu national team draws players from the Tuvalu A-Division and trains at the Tuvalu Sports Ground at Funafuti. The national team competes in the Pacific Games, and is controlled by the Tuvalu Islands Football Association (TIFA), which is an associate member of the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) but not a member of FIFA.
The Cook Islands national cricket team is the team that represents the Cook Islands - an island country in a free association with New Zealand - in international cricket matches. The team is organised by the Cook Islands Cricket Association, which became an affiliate member of the International Cricket Council (ICC) in 2000 and an associate member when all affiliate members were promoted to that status in 2017.
The Pacific Oceania Davis Cup team represents the island nations in Oceania, excluding Australia, New Zealand and New Caledonia, in Davis Cup tennis competition and are governed by the Oceania Tennis Federation.
Rugby league is the national sport and most popular sport in the Cook Islands, with soccer and rugby union as the next most popular/played sports. In September 2009, the Cook Islands hosted the 2009 Pacific Mini Games. Cook Islands Sports National Olympic Committee is the official governing body of sport in the Cook Islands.
The Cook Islands compete as a part of netball's Oceania region. More than 1,000 players have registered to play the sport. Participation in the game grew during the 1970s. Much of this is possible because of the national governing organisation, the Cook Islands Netball Association which is a member of Oceania Netball Federation. Because of the level of organisation and the game's development, the country has participated at several international events including the Pacific Games, the Commonwealth Games, the World Games, the Oceania Netball Tournament, the World Youth Netball Championship, and the International Challenge Men's and Mixed Netball Tournament. A demonstration of the Cook Islands success can be found by looking at the national team: It is one of the top ranked in the world.
David Muta is a Papua New Guinean footballer who plays for Hekari United and the Papua New Guinea national football team. He captains both his club and the Papua New Guinea national team.
Netball at the Pacific Games has been an optional Pacific Games sport since 1963. Fiji have been the tournament's most successful team, winning seven gold medals. Cook Islands have won four gold medals. To date, only the Cook Islands and Fiji have won netball gold at the Pacific Games.
Tennis at the Pacific Games has been contested since 1963 when it was included as one of ten sports at the First South Pacific Games held in Suva, Fiji.
Bong Kalo is a Ni-Vanuatu footballer who plays as a midfielder.
The Cook Islands women's national rugby league team, also known as the Cook Islands Moana represents Cook Islands in Women's rugby league. The Cook Islands competed in the 2003 and 2017 Women's Rugby League World Cups. The Cook Islands have qualified for the 2021 Women's Rugby League World Cup which, after a delay due to the Covid-19 pandemic, is scheduled to be played in November 2022. The Cook Islands have prequalified for the 2025 Women's Rugby League World Cup.
Kairangi Vano is a New Zealand born Cook islands professional tennis player.
A list of men and women international rugby league matches played throughout 2019 and does not include wheelchair rugby league international matches. A † denotes a recognised, but unofficial match that did not contribute to the RLIF World Rankings.
Pacific Oceania is the name given to the group of small nations of the Southern, Southwestern, Central and Western Pacific Ocean that compete collectively as one country in both the Davis Cup (men) and Billie Jean King Cup (women) tennis tournaments. Pacific Oceania is governed by the Oceania Tennis Federation.
Benjamin Mata is a Cook Islands footballer who currently plays as a central defender for Wellington Olympic and the Cook Islands national team.
References
- ↑ "Brett Baudinet". Ultimate Tennis Statistics. Retrieved 6 March 2021.
- ↑ "Pacific Mini Games team named". Cook Islands News. 26 August 2009. Retrieved 6 March 2021.
- 1 2 3 4 "Making a racquet: A quest to help Pacific tennis thrive". Cook Islands News. 27 May 2021. Retrieved 28 May 2021.
- ↑ "Tourism Award win is testament to hard work". Cook Islands News. 27 April 2018. Retrieved 6 March 2021.
- ↑ Melina Etches (28 May 2019). "Tennis team off to Nations Cup". Cook Islands News. Retrieved 6 March 2021.
- ↑ "Major tennis award for Baudinet". Cook Islands News. 4 September 2017. Retrieved 6 March 2021.
- ↑ "A feather in Baudinet's cap". Cook Islands News. 23 October 2018. Retrieved 6 March 2021.
- ↑ "Baudinet makes tennis history". Cook Islands News. 5 March 2021. Retrieved 6 March 2021.
 | This biographical article related to sport in the Cook Islands is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
 | This biographical article relating to Oceania tennis is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |