Outrigger boats are various watercraft featuring one or more lateral support floats known as outriggers, which are fastened to one or both sides of the main hull. They can range from small dugout canoes to large plank-built vessels. Outrigger boats can also vary in their configuration, from the ancestral double-hull configuration (catamarans), to single-outrigger vessels prevalent in the Pacific Islands and Madagascar, to the double-outrigger vessels (trimarans) prevalent in Island Southeast Asia. They are traditionally fitted with Austronesian sails, like the crab claw sails and tanja sails, but in modern times are often fitted with petrol engines.
Canoe sailing refers to the practice of fitting an Austronesian outrigger or Western canoe with sails.
The 2007 South Pacific Games were held in Apia, Samoa, from 25 August to 8 September 2007. The Games were the thirteenth to be held since the inception of the South Pacific Games in 1963, and included traditional multi-sport event disciplines, such as athletics and swimming, alongside region-specific and smaller events such as outrigger canoeing, surfing and lawn bowls.
The Fiji Association of Sports and National Olympic Committee (FASANOC) was founded on 25 March 1949 and achieved International Olympic Committee (IOC) recognition on 20 September 1955. It is responsible for entering Fiji's representatives in the Olympic Games and the coordination and management of Fiji Teams to the South Pacific Mini Games, South Pacific Games and the Commonwealth Games. It also provides technical assistance and funding to its affiliates in the areas of coaching, athlete development, sports medicine and sports administration.
The VII South Pacific Mini Games were held July 25-August 4, 2005 in Palau.
The 2013 Pacific Mini Games was the ninth edition of these Mini Games. They were held in Mata Utu in Wallis and Futuna from 2 to 12 September 2013.
Va'a, also called the outrigger canoe, for the 2013 Pacific Mini Games, was held in Gahi village and its namesake bay area. It is located in the southeast coast of Wallis and Futuna. Competition for this sport was on the 3 to 6 September 2013.
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 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.
Outrigger canoeing at the 1999 South Pacific Games was held from 5–10 June 1999 at Matapang Beach, Tumon Bay in Guam. There were six events for the "Galaide II" OC6 canoe (G6) and four events for the Va'a 1 rudderless OC1 (V1). Tahiti dominated the competition winning all ten gold medals.
Outrigger canoeing at the 2007 South Pacific Games was held from 4–8 September 2007 at Mulifanoua Reserve, Aggies Greys Resort in Samoa. Tahiti dominated the competition winning all ten gold medals.
Va'a, also called the outrigger canoe, for the 2009 Pacific Mini Games, was held in Rarotonga in the Cook Islands. The sprint races took place at Muri Lagoon and the distance races started and finished at Avarua Wharf.
Outrigger canoeing at the 1995 South Pacific Games in Tahiti. Events were contested in the Va'a rudderless canoe. Tahiti dominated the competition winning all eight gold medals.
Outrigger canoeing, mostly using va'a canoes, has been contested at the Pacific Games since the 1995 edition held in Papeete, Tahiti. The va'a rudderless outrigger has been raced at all regattas, although the "Galaide II" outrigger canoe with rudder has also been used. Tahiti has dominated the competition since inception, topping the medal count at all regattas the country has attended.
The 2022 Pacific Mini Games was held in Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands. It was the eleventh edition of the Pacific Mini Games and the first to be hosted by the Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands.
Polynesian multihull terminology, such as "ama", "aka" and "vaka" are multihull terms that have been widely adopted beyond the South Pacific where these terms originated. This Polynesian terminology is in common use in the Americas and the Pacific but is almost unknown in Europe, where the Anglo-Saxon terms "hull" and "outrigger" form normal parlance. Outriggers, catamarans, and outrigger boats are a common heritage of all Austronesian peoples and predate the Micronesian and Polynesian expansion into the Pacific. They are also the dominant forms of traditional ships in Island Southeast Asian and Malagasy Austronesian cultures, where local terms are used.
A paopao, is the name used by the Polynesian-speaking inhabitants of the Ellice Islands for their single-outrigger canoes, of which the largest could carry four to six adults. The large double-hulled sailing canoes had ceased to be constructed in the Ellice Islands some time before contact with Europeans.
Outrigger canoeing at the 2019 Pacific Games was held in Samoa from 9–13 July at the Sheraton Samoa Beach Resort, Mulifanua, which is approximately 40 kilometres west of the capital, Apia.
Salome Tabuatalei is a Fijian athlete who competed at international level in a wide range of athletic events and in canoeing, from 1993 to 2019. She was named Fiji's Sportswoman of the Year in 1996 and 1997.
The outrigger canoeing, mostly referred to as Va'a in the Pacific region, competition at the 2022 Pacific Mini Games will be held from 20–24 June 2022 at the 13th Fishermen Memorial Monument Beach in Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands.
New Caledonia (NCL)
Cook Islands (COK)
Samoa (SAM)
Fiji (FIJ)
Niue (NIU)
Palau (PLW)
Papua New Guinea (PNG)