Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — The Senate Parks and Recreation Committee held a hearing yesterday to discuss a Senate Concurrent Resolution that supports the American Samoa Government and the American Samoa National Olympic Committee’s efforts to secure the bid to host the 2029 Pacific Mini Games.

Testifying were the Governor’s Chief of Staff Loa Tauapai, Parks and Recreation Director Ken Tupua, and ASNOC top officials President Tuia’ana Ed Imo and Secretary General Vaiala Ethan Lake.

In his opening statements, Loa stated that American Samoa had submitted a bid in 2018 to host the 2025 Mini Games but had been unsuccessful after failing to meet the requirements. Subsequently, it was Palau who won the bid.

According to media reports at the time, American Samoa and Niue had expressed interest to host the 2025 Mini Games.

Both forwarded formal bid documents which were scrutinized by the Pacific Games Council at their meeting in Apia in 2018.

“When the Executive Committee assessed both of the bids, we came to a unanimous decision that they were not compliant with the charter requirements,” said Andrew Minogue, PGC Chief Executive Officer.

According to a report on Inside the Games Online service, some of these issues could have been dealt with through negotiation but critically the missing ingredient from both bids was a government guarantee.

“A financial underwriting of the Games is essential, we cannot run a Games without a government providing financial support to host the event,” said Minogue.

During yesterday's Senate hearing, Chief of Staff Loa testified that the bidding process for the 2029 Mini Games took place earlier this year, and after reviewing bids from various countries and territories that applied, only American Samoa and the Cook Islands were shortlisted.

In May, the PGC President Vidya Lakhan and CEO, Andrew Minogue inspected sports facilities in the Territory and the Cook Islands and the council is set to make a final decision between the two bidders next month when it meets in Palau.

Loa told the Senate that it is a very close race "but American Samoa is behind by just one iota." He explained that the PGC top officials favor the Cook Islands because their government includes an Opposition political party, providing a balance to the ruling party.

American Samoa on the other hand has a different form of government which does not include an Opposition.

However, Loa mentioned that Lt. Governor La’apui Talauega E.V. Ale has been collaborating closely with the ASNOC to prepare a credible proposal.

Governor Lemanu P.S. Mauga believes that an endorsement from the Fono, in the form of a joint resolution, would strengthen American Samoa’s bid, significantly increasing its chances of success.

Senator Muagututi’a Tauoa inquired about the budget allocated for the games and whether there were sufficient accommodations for all participating delegations.

Senate President Tuaolo Manaia Fruean explained that the delegation traveling to Palau in October would be submitting American Samoa’s bid to host the games in 2029. If the bid is successful, there will be five years to finalize the necessary logistics.

Senator Malaepule Saite Moliga supported the concerns raised by Muagututi’a, emphasizing that this information should be included in the bid to demonstrate to the Pacific Games Council that the American Samoa Government is fully committed.

Senator Satele Aliitai Lili'o asked the ASNOC officials if they were collaborating with the Department of Education to prepare young athletes to represent the Territory in these international games.

Satele said that it looks like the emphasis is given to games like rugby, soccer and volleyball but he has never seen any athletics being held in high schools and other sports like sailing and golf should be introduced in school sporting curriculum for the young athletes who will be competing in the 2028 Olympics, the 2029 Mini Games and the 2032 Olympics.

ASNOC Secretary General Vaiala Ethan Lake stated that since he and President Ed Imo were elected, they have attended the 2019 and 2023 Pacific Games, identifying the necessary steps to prepare local young athletes for these international competitions.

He emphasized that a crucial part of this preparation is sports education, and they have been advocating for professional training across various sports organizations.

“A few weeks ago, we brought in international coaches from the Oceania Sports Education Program (OSEP) in Fiji to train our different sports officials,” he said. “There are 27 sports affiliated with ASNOC involved in this sports education program, and we are truly igniting a passion within these national sports federations to support them. We have the funds to assist them.”

He added that they are collaborating closely with the Governor’s Office, DOE, and the Department of Parks & Recreation to overcome challenges hindering progress, such as the lack of facilities for many associations. He noted that only a few, like the soccer and tennis associations, have their own facilities.

Senator Togiola T.A. Tulafono asked if the bid proposal had already been put together.

Loa explained that the bid proposal had been submitted with bids from other countries and territories that had initially applied. These bids had been reviewed by the PGC and only American Samoa and the Cook Islands had been shortlisted.

"At present, we are more or less head to head with the Cook Islands, but Lt. Governor La'apui, who will be leading our delegation next month to Palau, has recognized that our bid will be significantly stronger with the Fono's official endorsement in the form of a concurrent resolution," Loa clarified.

Togiola asked why the initial proposal was sent without a Fono concurrent resolution to add credibility and illustrate the government's commitment to host the games.

Loa replied that the committee had overlooked that important requirement.

Togiola reiterated his concern by recounting the events surrounding the first and only time American Samoa hosted the Pacific Mini Games in 1997.

He recalled that during the first week of Governor Tauese P.F. Sunia’s tenure, the PGC informed him that American Samoa’s opportunity to host the games could be revoked due to the lack of preparation of sporting facilities and an approved budget over the previous five years.

According to Togiola, this was in January 1997, and the games were scheduled to begin on August 12, 1997.

Senator Togiola noted that Governor Tauese managed to accomplish everything necessary for American Samoa to host the games that year in just six months.

“I remember the morning of the opening ceremony at the Veterans Memorial Stadium,” Togiola recalled. “Workers were still trying to cover the roof of the grandstand with tarpaulin because there were no funds left to buy roofing materials!”

He emphasized that he does not want a repeat of that scenario.

Togiola asked the ASNOC President if there was a supplemental budget for their trip to Palau, to which President Imo confirmed that there was.

Togiola then requested that a copy of the supplemental budget and the bid proposal be submitted to the Fono so that members would be informed of what they are endorsing.

He inquired about the amount of money ASNOC would provide to assist the government in hosting the games if the bid proposal was successful.

President Imo replied that ASNOC does not have any funds earmarked for this purpose. He explained that ASNOC receives $125,000 annually to fund training for the various member sports associations.

However, if the bid proposal is successful, ASNOC can request financial assistance from the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to help cover the costs of hosting the 2029 Pacific Mini Games.

Senator Togiola asked who had prepared the initial bid proposal that was submitted. Loa replied that Governor Lemanu and Lt. Governor La’apui had initiated the matter, stating that American Samoa was more than qualified to host an international sporting event of this magnitude and that there would be many benefits to the Territory’s economy.

Togiola expressed his support for the governor and Lt. governor’s vision, stating that it would indeed be economically beneficial and would also encourage the younger generation of athletes to strive for excellence in their respective sports, especially with their families watching.

Maybe in the next Olympics, the number of athletes representing American Samoa will increase to six or more, rather than having a 40-member delegation on an all-expenses-paid trip to cheer for just one athlete competing under our flag,” Togiola said sarcastically.

“It was a disgrace for our people to see so many so-called sports officials enjoying themselves in France, cheering for just one athlete!”

Senate President Tuaolo advised senators to endorse the bid proposal, stating that if it was successful, there would be plenty of time to ensure everything went smoothly.

He concluded by informing ASNOC President Imo that he had received numerous complaints from the public, accusing ASNOC of various unethical practices, including the election of officers.

He noted that, ever since he had been in the Fono, he had never seen a financial report from ASNOC on the funds appropriated by the government for their various sports programs.

“You are now the ASNOC president, fix it,” Tuaolo said.

During the Senate regular session that followed, Committee Chairman Senator Ponemafua Tapeni moved that the concurrent resolution be passed in a vote.

However, Senator Malaepule proposed a motion to replace the original motion, stating that he did not want to endorse something that was not well-prepared.

He suggested that the Senate should wait for the bid proposal and ASNOC supplemental budget, which the witnesses had been instructed to provide for the Senate’s review.

Senator Togiola supported Malaepule’s motion but suggested that the vote to pass the resolution be postponed until today after the Senate had reviewed the documents from the witnesses.

Senate President Tuaolo, however, expressed his understanding that they should pass the resolution so that the bid could be submitted. He added that any necessary changes could be addressed by the next Legislature.

Following this, the Senate President called for a vote.

The result was seven votes in favor and six votes against, although Tuaolo stated that only four had voted against the resolution.

Those who voted against were Senators Tuiasina Salamo Laumoli, Togiola, Malaepule, Magalei Logovi’i, Ma'o Faʻauma Gogo, and Muagututi’a.