| Netball at the 1979 South Pacific Games | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Location | Suva,  Fiji | ||||||
| Dates | 8–18 December 1966 | ||||||
| Medalists | |||||||
| |||||||
Netball at the 1979 South Pacific Games in Suva Fiji was held from 28 August to 8 September 1979. [1]
This was the fourth competition at the South Pacific Games for netball after missing the 1971 South Pacific Games and 1975 South Pacific Games. The winner of the event were the Fiji over the Cook Islands. Papua New Guinea took home the bronze.
| Place | Nation |
|---|---|
 | Fiji |
 |  Cook Islands |
 |  Papua New Guinea |
The Cook Islands national netball team represent the Cook Islands in international netball. In recent years they have finished 1st at the 2019 Pacific Games, 1st at the 2018 Nations Cup in Singapore, 10th at the 2010 Commonwealth Games and 7th at the 2007 World Netball Championships; the Cook Islands did not qualify for the 2011 World Championships in Singapore. The Cook Islands team were ranked as high as 10th in the INF World Rankings at one stage, now currently 14th.
The Oceania Netball Federation is the regional body within the International Federation of Netball Associations that governs netball across Oceania. The current president is Wainikiti Bogidrau from Fiji. There are currently twenty four countries within the Oceania region. There are seven full members with New Zealand the only one with elite status. Realistically only thirteen nations, predominantly Commonwealth nations, play the game.
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.
Netball in Oceania is generally regarded as a woman's sport. Women's sports in Oceania have traditionally had a very low profile. Despite this, netball is popular in Oceania, with its growth partly because of New Zealand encouraging the game and providing money for the training of coaches, umpires and other netball development needs. In New Zealand and in neighbouring Australia, netball is one of the most popular sports played by women.
Rugby union at the Pacific Games has been contested since 1963 when included as one of ten sports at the first games held in Suva, Fiji. Rugby sevens is the form of rugby now played at the Pacific Games, with men's and women's tournaments included in the current schedule. The women's competition was added for the first time at the 2011 Pacific Games held in Nouméa.
The 1963 South Pacific Games, held from 29 August to 9 September 1963 at Suva in Fiji, was the first edition of the South Pacific Games. The multisport games were established to engender bonds of friendship amongst peoples in the Pacific, after an idea originated by Dr A.H. Sahu Khan was adopted by the South Pacific Commission. At a meeting of nine Territories, held in Nouméa during March 1961, Fiji was awarded the honour of hosting the first Games.
The 1991 South Pacific Games, held from 7–21 September 1991 at Port Moresby and Lae in Papua New Guinea, was the ninth edition of the South Pacific Games. This was the first time that events at one games had been held in two cities. The decision to do so was to allow both locations to benefit from the construction of new facilities.
The 1981 South Pacific Mini Games were held at Honiara in the Solomon Islands from 8–16 July 1981. It was the first edition of the South Pacific Mini Games.
The 1985 South Pacific Mini Games were held at Rarotonga in the Cook Islands from 31 July to 9 August 1985. It was the second edition of the South Pacific Mini Games.
The 1989 South Pacific Mini Games were held at Nuku'alofa in Tonga from 22 August to 1 September 1989. It was the third edition of the South Pacific Mini Games.
The 1993 South Pacific Mini Games were held at Port Vila in Vanuatu from 6–16 December 1993. It was the fourth edition of the South Pacific Mini Games.
The 1997 South Pacific Mini Games were held at Pago Pago in American Samoa from 11 to 22 August 1997. It was the fifth edition of the South Pacific Mini Games. It was much larger than previous editions, with an almost doubling of the number of medals awarded compared to the 1993 South Pacific Mini Games. The impressive performances by Nauru in weightlifting continued in Pago Pago, with the tiny nation finishing on top of the unofficial medal table after winning 33 gold.
The 1995 South Pacific Games, held at Papeete in French Polynesia from 25 August to 5 September 1995, was the tenth edition of the South Pacific Games.
The 1983 South Pacific Games, held at Apia in Western Samoa from 5–16 September 1983, was the seventh edition of the South Pacific Games.
The 1979 South Pacific Games, held at Suva in Fiji from 28 August to 8 September 1979, was the sixth edition of the South Pacific Games.
Netball at the Pacific Games has been played by women's netball teams from Pacific nations since 1963. It is the oldest Oceania regional tournament.
Swimming competitions have been held at the Pacific Games since the inaugural edition in 1963 at every Games except for 1983. Swimming has also been held once at the South Pacific Mini Games, in 2005.
Swimming at the 1979 South Pacific Games took place in Suva, the capital of Fiji. It was the sixth edition of the South Pacific Games. The existing South Pacific Games record time was broken in every event.
Netball at the 1966 South Pacific Games in Nouméa New Caledonia was held from 8–18 December 1966.
Netball at the 1983 South Pacific Games in Apia, Samoa was held from 5–16 September 1983.
