Pacific Oceania [1] [2] (abbreviated to POC) 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.
As some Pacific Ocean countries and territories were too small or underdeveloped to have their own national teams, Pacific Oceania was established in the 1995, with both the men's and women's teams first participating in the 1995 editions of the Davis Cup and Fed Cup, respectively.
The World Rugby Pacific Challenge, formerly the IRB Pacific Rugby Cup, is an annual rugby union football tournament held in Oceania since 2006. It is contested by national 'A' teams from the Asia-Pacific region. The tournament is run by World Rugby through Oceania Rugby.
The Oceania Continent Handball Federation (OCHF) is the governing body for the Olympic sport of Handball in Oceania. It was founded in 2014 and is affiliated to the International Handball Federation (IHF) and Asian Handball Federation (AHF).
The Vanuatu women's national football team represents Vanuatu in international women's association football. The team is controlled by the Vanuatu Football Federation (VFF). Vanuatu's home field is the Port Vila Municipal Stadium, located in the country's capital, Port Vila. The team is managed by Job Alwin.
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.
The Fiji men's national tennis team represents Fiji in the Davis Cup a team tennis event run by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) and is governed by the Fiji Tennis Association. They have not competed since 2001.
The Pacific Oceania Fed Cup team represents the island nations of Oceania in Fed Cup tennis competition and are governed by the Oceania Tennis Federation. In 2015 they took part in Fed Cup competition for the first time in ten years.
The 2011 Pacific Games took place in Nouméa, New Caledonia, from August 27 to September 10, 2011. Nouméa was the 14th host of the Pacific Games. Upon closure of the registration for entries, "some 4,300 athletes" had registered from the twenty-two competing nations, although it was expected that not all would attend.
Sport in Oceania varies from country to country. The most popular playing sport for men in Australia is Australian rules football, while for women is netball. Australian rules football is the most popular sport in terms of spectatorship and television ratings. Rugby union is the most popular sport among New Zealanders, while in Papua New Guinea rugby league is the most popular. Cricket is another popular sport throughout the Oceania region.
The Oceania Table Tennis Federation (OTTF) is a table tennis organization founded on 1 June 1977, recognized by International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) as its continental federation in Oceania. Discussions began at the Commonwealth Table Tennis Championships held in Melbourne, 1975. Seven foundation members were New Zealand, Australia, Guam, Papua New Guinea, Fiji, New Caledonia and Tahiti.
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.
The 1969 South Pacific Games, held from 13–23 August 1969 at Port Moresby in Papua New Guinea, was the third edition of the South Pacific Games. A total of 1,150 athletes participated in the games.
The 1999 South Pacific Games, held in Guam from 29 May to 12 June 1999, was the eleventh edition of the South Pacific 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 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.
Guam Davis Cup team is a team that represents the island of Guam in Davis Cup tennis competition and is governed by the Guam National Tennis Federation, the governing body of Guam. Guam first competed in the Davis Cup in 2018 and is currently competing in Group II of the Asia/Oceania Zone.
The Guam Fed Cup team represents Guam in Fed Cup tennis competition and are governed by the Guam National Tennis Federation. They took part in the Fed Cup for the first time in 2020, competing in the Asia/Oceania Zone Group II. They lost their first Fed Cup match against the Philippines with their first win being their 3-0 victory over Turkmenistan in their second Fed Cup game. Prior to their Fed Cup debut in 2020, Guam was previously affiliated with the Pacific Oceania team.