Spearfishing at the Micronesian Games

Last updated

Spearfishing competitions have been held at the quadrennial Micronesian Games since the 1994 Micronesian Games, with modern spearfishing replacing traditional spearfishing at the 2006 Micronesian Games.

Contents

Traditional spearfishing

History

Spearfishing was first featured at the 1994 Micronesian Games, the third edition of the games. [1] Guam won its first gold team medal at the 1998 Micronesian Games. [2] At the 2002 Micronesian Games, Palau won team gold, Kosrae and Guam tied for silver and Pohnpei won bronze. [3] Guamanian Roberto Cabreza won the individual event that year. [4]

Modern spearfishing

Modern spearfishing uses spearguns instead of sharp-pointed tools Spearfishing pictogram.svg
Modern spearfishing uses spearguns instead of sharp-pointed tools

Rules

The competition features a men's individual and team event. [5] The winner is decided by weighing the catches of fish caught in a given time; catches must weigh at least 1 kilogram or 2.2 pounds to be counted. [5] Fishing for the humphead wrasse, green humphead parrotfish, balloonfish, porcupinefish and cartilaginous fish such as sharks, rays and sea turtles is prohibited. [5] Spearfishers are allowed to use diving masks, snorkels, a pair of fins, a weight belt and a diving knife but are not allowed to use breathing apparatus such as scuba sets as the competition is freedive only. [5] Competitors are only allowed to have two spearguns and cannot have both of them in the water at the same time, the spearguns must also be powered by rubber. [5]

History

The 2006 Micronesian Games hosted in Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands, became the first to use modern spearfishing equipment after the owner of a diving shop on the island acquired the right to distribute modern spearguns and long swimfins from a Cressi-Sub company in 2005. [6] Prior to this acquisition, residents of the territory had to travel to Guam to purchase such equipment. [6] Captain Felix Sasamoto led the Northern Mariana Islands spearfishing team to victory defeating the favored teams of Guam and Palau. [6] Sasamoto also won a gold medal in the individual event that year and would later set up the Marianas Apnea Spearfishing Club, along with Morito Asai and others. [6] The club conducted a trial competition to select the Northern Mariana Islands' spearfishers for the 2010 Micronesian Games but the defending champions failed to make the podium in both events. [7] [8]

At the 2014 Micronesian Games in Pohnpei, Palauan Clint Madracheluib won gold in the individual event with his teammate Moy Shmull losing second place to Guamanian Ray Flores as one of the fish that he caught was mutilated by a shark. [9] [10] At the delayed 2024 Micronesian Games in Majuro, manager James Borja led his team to win Guam's fourth consecutive team gold medal. [11] [2] Guamanian Michael Genereux also won his second consecutive individual spearfishing gold medal. [2] [12]

Editions

GamesYearHostEventsBest nation(s)
VI 2006 Flag of the Northern Mariana Islands.svg Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands 2Flag of the Northern Mariana Islands.svg  Northern Mariana Islands (2)
VII 2010 Flag of Palau.svg Koror, Palau 2Flag of Palau.svg  Palau (1)
Flag of Guam.svg  Guam (1)
VIII 2014 Flag of Pohnpei.svg Pohnpei, Pohnpei 2Flag of Palau.svg  Palau (1)
Flag of Guam.svg  Guam (1)
IX 2018 Flag of Yap.svg Yap, Yap 2Flag of Guam.svg  Guam (2)
X 2024 Flag of the Marshall Islands.svg Majuro, Marshall Islands 2Flag of Guam.svg  Guam (2)

Medal table

RankAssociationGoldSilverBronzeTotal
1Flag of Guam.svg  Guam 63110
2Flag of Palau.svg  Palau 2428
3Flag of the Northern Mariana Islands.svg  Northern Mariana Islands 2002
4Flag of Pohnpei.svg  Pohnpei 0246
5Flag of Nauru.svg  Nauru 0112
6Flag of Kosrae.svg  Kosrae 0011
Flag of Yap.svg  Yap 0011
8Flag of Chuuk.svg  Chuuk 0000
Flag of Kiribati.svg  Kiribati 0000
Flag of the Marshall Islands.svg  Marshall Islands 0000
Totals (10 entries)10101030
Source: As of September 2024. [13] [8] [10] [12] [14]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Micronesia</span> Subregion of Oceania

Micronesia is a subregion of Oceania, consisting of approximately 2,000 small islands in the Northwestern Pacific Ocean. It has a close shared cultural history with three other island regions: Maritime Southeast Asia to the west, Polynesia to the east, and Melanesia to the south—as well as with the wider community of Austronesian peoples.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spearfishing</span> Hunting for fish using a spear

Spearfishing is fishing using handheld elongated, sharp-pointed tools such as a spear, gig, or harpoon, to impale the fish in the body. It was one of the earliest fishing techniques used by mankind, and has been deployed in artisanal fishing throughout the world for millennia. Early civilizations were familiar with the custom of spearing fish from rivers and streams using sharpened sticks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2006 Micronesian Games</span>

The 6th Micronesian Games were held on Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands from June 23-July 2, 2006. The Games featured competition in 15 different sports/disciplines.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Northern Mariana Islands national football team</span> Mens association football team representing the Northern Mariana Islands

The Northern Mariana Islands national football team represents the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands in international men's football. The team is controlled by the governing body for football in the Northern Mariana Islands, the Northern Mariana Islands Football Association, which is a member of the East Asian Football Federation (EAFF) and since December 2020 a full member of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). The association is not a member of the world governing body FIFA, although it had applied for membership, and so while the national team is eligible to enter AFC and EAFF-run competitions, they are currently ineligible for global competitions such as the FIFA World Cup. As such, they do not have an official FIFA ranking. However, the team have been consistently ranked as one of the worst teams in the world on the Elo ratings and were in fact, in July 2016 rated as the worst men's senior international team in the world in a ratings system that also includes a number of other non-FIFA teams.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2010 Micronesian Games</span> Multi-sport event

The 7th Micronesian Games was held August 1–10 in Palau.

The Micronesian Games are a quadrennial international multi-sport event within the Micronesian region. The Games were first held in 1969 in Saipan. The 2010 Micronesian Games were initially due to be held in Majuro, until the hosts withdrew. The 2010 Games were hosted by Palau. The Federated States of Micronesia won the bidding to host the 2014 Micronesian Games in Pohnpei State, and later won again against CNMI for the 2018 Micronesian Games, held in Yap State.

The sport of baseball is widely played in Palau, having been introduced by the Japanese during their occupation of the island nation. The highest level of league play in Palau in represented by Palau Major League (PML), which is overseen by the Belau Baseball Federation. The country is represented in international play by the Palau national baseball team.

The 8th Micronesian Games were held from July 20 to July 30, 2014, in Pohnpei, Federated States of Micronesia (FSM).

Athletics competitions at the 2014 Micronesian Games were held at the Pohnpei Track and Field in Palikir, Pohnpei, between July 21–24, 2014.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2018 Micronesian Games</span> Regional multisport event

The 9th Micronesian Games were held from July 15 to July 27, 2018, in Yap, Federated States of Micronesia. The venues included the Matson Sports Complex in Abay, and several locations around Colonia.

Raymond Joseph Flores is a Guamanian spearfisher and former butterfly and freestyle swimmer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Underwater diving in Guam</span> Recreational diving tourism destination

Underwater diving encompasses a variety of economically and culturally significant forms of diving on the U.S. island territory of Guam. Scuba diving tourism is a significant component of the island's tourist activity, in particular for visitors from Japan and South Korea. Recreational diving by Guam residents has a lesser but still substantial economic impact. Marine biologists have raised concerns about the effect of diving upon the health of some of Guam's reefs. Recreational dive sites on Guam include submerged shipwrecks, such as the double wrecks of SMS Cormoran and Tokai Maru, and natural features, such as Blue Hole.

Football competitions have were first held at the Micronesian Games for the 1998 edition of the tournament. The event is open to the ten member federations of the Micronesian Games Council, a sub-regional member of the Oceania National Olympic Committees. The football tournament has been held at two subsequent games since 1998, in 2014 and 2018. Although a similar football tournament called the Micronesian Cup was held in 1999 and 2001, they were separate events as no Micronesian Games were held in those years.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2024 Micronesian Games</span> International sporting event

The 10th Micronesian Games were held in Majuro, Marshall Islands. After initially being scheduled for July 25 to August 5, 2022, the competition was originally delayed a year because of challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, including finishing construction of the New Marshall Islands Stadium. The games were held June 15-24, 2024.

Michael "Todd" Genereux is a Guamanian spearfisher.

Clint Madracheluib is a Palauan spearfisher.

Moy Shmull is a Palauan spearfisher.

Felix T. Sasamoto Jr. is a Northern Mariana Islands spearfisher.

James Borja is a Guamanian sports administrator, spearfishing manager and former spearfisher. He was Guam's Chef de Mission at the 2024 Summer Olympics.

Michael Cassidy is a Guamanian spearfisher.

References

  1. ↑ Pacific Magazine: Volume 18. Pacific Magazine Corporation. 1993. p. 64.
  2. 1 2 3 "4-Peat For Guam's Fishermen at Micro Games – GSPN – Guam Sports Network". June 20, 2024. Archived from the original on September 8, 2024. Retrieved September 6, 2024.
  3. ↑ "Teams Spearfishing: 2002 Micronesian Games - Team Event". GameDay. Archived from the original on February 23, 2003. Retrieved September 8, 2024.
  4. ↑ "Men's Spear Fishing: 2002 Micronesian Games - Individual Event". GameDay. Archived from the original on February 23, 2003. Retrieved September 8, 2024.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 "Spearfishing Competition Manual: 8th Micronesian Games July 20—29, 2014". GameDay. Archived from the original on January 8, 2022. Retrieved September 8, 2024.
  6. 1 2 3 4 "About Us". Aquasmith. Archived from the original on September 8, 2024. Retrieved September 8, 2024.
  7. ↑ Staff, Variety News (March 31, 2010). "Sasamoto tops Micronesian Games spear fishing tryout". Marianas Variety News & Views. Archived from the original on September 8, 2024. Retrieved September 6, 2024.
  8. 1 2
  9. ↑ "Palau claim Gold and Bronze - 2014 Micronesian Games - Spearfishing". GameDay. Archived from the original on September 8, 2024. Retrieved September 8, 2024.
  10. 1 2 "Results - 2014 Micronesian Games - Spearfishing". GameDay. Archived from the original on September 8, 2024. Retrieved September 8, 2024.
  11. ↑ "Guam spearfishers look to win gold again in Micronesian Games". Pacific Daily News. June 6, 2024. Retrieved September 12, 2024.
  12. 1 2 "Final Results - 2018 Micronesian Games - Spear Fishing". GameDay. Archived from the original on September 8, 2024. Retrieved September 8, 2024.
  13. ↑
  14. ↑ "Microgames 2024 Spearfishing". June 19, 2024. Archived from the original on September 8, 2024. Retrieved September 8, 2024– via NTA Media on YouTube.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.