1991 South Pacific Games


The 1991 South Pacific Games, officially the IX South Pacific Games, and also known as Papua New Guinea 1991 or Moresby-Lae 1991, were the ninth edition of the South Pacific Games held from 7 to 21 September 1991 in Port Moresby and Lae.
For the first time, the South Pacific Games were co-hosted by two cities; the PNG capital of Port Moresby, and Lae, the capital of Morobe Province. Events were held in and around the two cities with the opening and closing ceremonies of the Games held at the Sir John Guise Stadium in Port Moresby.
The host nation, Papua New Guinea, topped the medal table, winning the most gold medals and the highest number of medals overall ; this was PNG's first time to top the medal tally at a South Pacific Games. French Polynesia finished second with 30 golds and 80 overall medals.New Caledonia finished third.

Development and preparations

While the arrangement of hosting the Games in two separate cities presented organisational challenges, it resulted in significant upgrades to sporting infrastructure in both locations. Port Moresby hosted athletics, basketball, cricket, lawn tennis, netball, rugby union, softball, squash, swimming, and sailing, while Lae staged boxing, golf, lawn bowls, football, table tennis, volleyball, and weightlifting.
A dedicated Games Village was constructed to accommodate the athletes, with catering facilities providing approximately 25,000 meals per day for competitors and officials.
Construction and preparation were supported by contributions from both domestic and international sources. China provided an interest-free loan of PGK9 million for the main venue in Port Moresby. Japan funded the Sir Ignatius Kilage Sports Complex in Lae at a cost of PGK16 million and supplied PGK300,000 worth of equipment. South Korea donated PGK30,000 in sports equipment, France contributed PGK55,500 for sailboards, and the United Kingdom provided personnel assistance. The Government of Papua New Guinea was the largest contributor, allocating PGK3.69 million in direct funding, exempting the Games from taxation and duty, and providing more than PGK3 million in additional support through government departments and ministries, including Education, Foreign Affairs, Police, Defence, Health, and Works.
Sponsorships and fundraising supplemented these contributions, bringing the total budget to PGK46 million. The Games were credited with stimulating the development of sporting facilities and technical expertise across the Pacific region.

Venues

The 1991 South Pacific Games were held across multiple venues in Port Moresby and Lae. Each city featured a newly constructed main sporting complex built specifically for the Games: the Sir John Guise Sports Complex in Port Moresby and the Sir Ignatius Kilage Sports Complex in Lae. In addition to these, nine existing venues and two temporary venues were utilised. The temporary venues were at the Papua New Guinea University of Technology and, although normally reserved for student use, were adapted for the Games—Duncanson Hall hosted the weightlifting competition, while the university's oval was used for soccer.

Port Moresby

Lae

Participating countries

Sixteen Pacific nations participated in the Games:

Sports

17 sports were contested at the 1991 South Pacific Games:

Note: A number in parentheses indicates how many medal events were contested in that sport.

Medal bable

Medals were awarded in a total of 164 events: