Rugby union is played in Tuvalu . [1] Unlike most South Pacific islands, rugby union is largely played on an informal basis,. [2] alongside association football, which is the main sport played by Tuvaluans. [3]
The Tuvalu Rugby Union, an organising body for Rugby Union, was established in 2007 with the intention of forming a national team. [4] Rugby sevens was first introduced to Tuvalu in 2007. [2]
Rugby is played at the two secondary schools; Fetuvalu Secondary School, a day school located on Funafuti, and Motufoua Secondary School, a boarding school located on Vaitupu. They have their own internal tournaments. [2]
The club level rugby competition has eight clubs, all based on the main island of Funafuti. However all teams attract supporters based on the home island of the team members, such as the 'Niutao Sharks'. [5] The Tuvalu Sports Ground is shared with the association football competition. [2] Training activities are also carried out on the Funafuti International Airport, which is a shared facility, used for sport and recreational activities. [2]
The Tuvalu Rugby Union also selects a national team. [6] Tuvalu participated in the Rugby Sevens competition in the XIVth Pacific Games in 2011. [7] It is also a featured sport at the Tuvalu Games.
Tuvalu's main problems are geographical - its population of 11,992 makes it the third-least-populated independent country in the world, with only Vatican City and Nauru having fewer inhabitants. It is also one of the smallest member by population of the United Nations. In terms of physical land size, at just 26 square kilometres (10 sq mi) Tuvalu is the fourth smallest country in the world, larger only than the Vatican City—0.44 km2; Monaco—1.95 km2 and Nauru—21 km2. It comprises four reef islands and five true atolls. All of this makes a rugby infrastructure difficult to construct. [4]
Tuvalu's close relationship with New Zealand and Australia, however, ensures that rugby union gets a lot of media coverage in Tuvalu.
Tuvalu, formerly known as the Ellice Islands, is an island country in the Polynesian subregion of Oceania in the Pacific Ocean, about midway between Hawaii and Australia. It lies east-northeast of the Santa Cruz Islands, northeast of Vanuatu, southeast of Nauru, south of Kiribati, west of Tokelau, northwest of Samoa and Wallis and Futuna, and north of Fiji.
The Western Pacific nation of Tuvalu, formerly known as the Ellice Islands, is situated 4,000 kilometers (2,500 mi) northeast of Australia and is approximately halfway between Hawaii and Australia. It lies east-northeast of the Santa Cruz Islands, southeast of Nauru, south of Kiribati, west of Tokelau, northwest of Samoa and Wallis and Futuna and north of Fiji. It is a very small island country of 26 km2 (10 sq mi). Due to the spread out islands it has the 38th largest Exclusive Economic Zone of 749,790 km2 (289,500 sq mi). In terms of size, it is the second-smallest country in Oceania.
The first inhabitants of Tuvalu were Polynesians, so the origins of the people of Tuvalu can be traced to the spread of humans out of Southeast Asia, from Taiwan, via Melanesia and across the Pacific islands of Polynesia.
Tuvalu is a Polynesian island nation located in the Pacific Ocean, midway between Hawaii and Australia, with a population of 11,192 per the 2017 census. The economy of Tuvalu is constrained by its remoteness and lack of economies of scale. Government revenues largely come from fishing licences ; direct grants from international donors ; and income from the Tuvalu Trust Fund. The lease of its highly fortuitous .tv Top Level Domain (TLD) also contributes revenue. The sale of stamps since the independence of Tuvalu in 1976 has been an important source of revenue for the country and government. However, such revenue has significantly declined in recent years. Tuvalu has hardly any tourism. It has no tour guides, tour operators, or organised activities, and no cruise ships visit.
Vaitupu is the largest atoll of the nation of Tuvalu. It is located at 7.48 degrees south and 178.83 degrees east. There are 1,061 people living on 5.6 square kilometres with the main village being Asau.
Sir Toaripi Lauti was a Tuvaluan politician who served as chief minister of the Colony of Tuvalu (1975–78), as the first prime minister following Tuvalu's independence (1978–1981) and governor-general of Tuvalu (1990–1993). He was married to Sualua Tui.
The Congregational Christian Church of Tuvalu, commonly the Church of Tuvalu, is a Christian church which is the state church of Tuvalu, although this status merely entitles it to "the privilege of performing special services on major national events"; its adherents comprise about 86% of the 11,600 inhabitants of the archipelago.
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, which is an associate member of the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) but not a member of FIFA.
Tuvalu – United States relations are bilateral relations between Tuvalu and the United States.
Tuvalu competed at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China, from 8 to 24 August 2008. This was the nation's first ever appearance in an Olympic Game. The delegation included two track and field athletes and one weightlifter. Okilani Tinilau and Asenate Manoa participated in athletics while Logona Esau participated in the weightlifting sport. Both track and field athletes achieved national records. Logona Esau led the Tuvaluan squad as the nation's flag bearer in the parade of nations.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Tuvalu:
Funafuti is the capital of the island nation of Tuvalu. It has a population of 6,320 people. More people live in Funafuti than the rest of Tuvalu combined, with it containing approximately 60% of the nation's population. It consists of a narrow sweep of land between 20 and 400 metres wide, encircling a large lagoon 18 km long and 14 km wide. The average depth of the Funafuti lagoon is about 20 fathoms. With a surface area of 275 square kilometres (106.2 sq mi), it is by far the largest lagoon in Tuvalu. The land area of the 33 islets around the atoll of Funafuti totals 2.4 square kilometres (0.9 sq mi); taken together, they constitute less than one percent of the total area of the atoll. Cargo ships can enter Funafuti's lagoon and dock at the port facilities on Fongafale.
Sport is an important part of Tuvaluan culture, which sporting culture is based on traditional games and athletic activities and the adoption of some of the major international sports of the modern era.
Etimoni Timuani is a Tuvaluan sportsman. He is a footballer and sprinter specializing in the 100 m distance. Timuani is a father-of-two from Funafuti who works for the Tuvalu National Provident Fund, the national pension scheme.
The Tuvalu national rugby sevens team participates in the Rugby Sevens competitions at the Pacific Games and the Oceania Sevens Championship.
Women in Tuvalu continue to maintain a traditional Polynesian culture within a predominantly Christian society. Tuvaluan cultural identity is sustained through an individual's connection to their home island. In the traditional community system in Tuvalu, each family has its own task, or salanga, to perform for the community. The skills of a family are passed on from parents to children. The women of Tuvalu participate in the traditional music of Tuvalu and in the creation of the art of Tuvalu including using cowrie and other shells in traditional handicrafts. There are opportunities of further education and paid employment with non-government organisations (NGOs) and government enterprises, education and health agencies being the primary opportunities for Tuvaluan women.
The Tuvalu Rugby Union, or TRU, is the governing body for rugby union in Tuvalu. It also organises the Rugby Sevens competitions. It was established in 2007 and is a full member of the Federation of Oceania Rugby Unions (FORU), which is the regional governing body for rugby in Oceania.
The popularity of cricket in Oceania varies from place to place – in some countries, it is the national sport, while in others it is not played at all. A number of Oceanian countries are members of the International Cricket Council (ICC), and participate in tournaments organised by the ICC East Asia-Pacific (EAP) development program. The other major regional competition is the cricket tournament at the Pacific Games, which is open to ICC non-members.
