Category Archives: Oceania

The 118 French Polynesian islands, including Bora Bora and Tahiti, have reopened to fully vaccinated travelers from certain green nations including the United States, as of June 9. The broader reopening occurred along with the reopening of mainland France, after an early-opening period from May 1 during which curfews were still in place (they have since been lifted). All visitors must test negative for COVID-19 within the three days prior to arrival; full vaccination is defined as 14 days after second Moderna and Pfizer shots, or 28 days after a single-dose Johnson & Johnson shot.

Each traveler must submit an Electronic Travel Information System (ETIS) form confirming their vaccination, other health information, and travel itinerary at least six days before departure. Air Tahiti states that while officials permit unvaccinated children to enter the archipelago with their vaccinated guardian(s) if they test negative and are under-18, a compelling reason for travel will be required of anyone over age 11 who is not vaccinated.

The archipelago nation of Fiji is currently seeing its first substantial upswing of COVID-19 cases, and does not allow Americans to enter without quarantining on arrival. The country has administered coronavirus vaccinations to less than one percent of its population, though the Fijian tourism board has expressed hope that mounting vaccinations will eventually [restore] the livelihoods for thousands of Fijians, who are dependent on the tourism sector.

The archipelago of the Marshall Islands has remained closed to tourism since early 2020, which has prevented the coronavirus from taking hold in the islands. International travelers are not permitted to enter the Marshall Islands, according to the U.S. Embassy in the Marshall Islands. There has been no community transmission of COVID-19 within the Marshall Islands, and activities are proceeding as usual.

Samoas borders remain closed to tourism with most commercial flights canceled, a tactic that has kept its islands free of confirmed community cases of COVID-19 since the beginning of the pandemic. The ban on visitors extends to the U.S. territory of American Samoa; essential visitors, including Samoan citizens repatriating from abroad, are required to seek approval from the Samoan Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Except in exceptional circumstances approved by Cabinet, all international travel to and from Samoa by plane [is] ceased, the Samoan tourism board says on its website. Those who do receive permission to enter are still required to quarantine in a government facility for 14 days.

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A Guide to Australia Travel Restrictions and Other Regions in Oceania - Cond Nast Traveler

One year has passed since FIFA announced that Australia and New Zealand had won the rights to host the 2023 Women's World Cup -- the first to include 32 teams and to be partly held in what can be described as a "developing" football confederation, Oceania.

The coronavirus pandemic has brought much of the sporting world to a standstill over the past year, but the 11 member federations that make up football's smallest confederation, the OFC, have been quietly readying themselves to capitalise on the boom in interest and investment from co-hosting the Women's World Cup in two years' time.

Few people were as exhilarated -- and relieved -- by the announcement as Emma Evans, the Head of Women's Football at the OFC. Having spent years working as a development officer across the region, Evans knows better than most the significance of the tournament in helping to grow the women's game across the Pacific.

"The impact that a World Cup will have on our side of the world will be so much bigger in scale than what it might be in somewhere like France, where you've already got professional football, you've already got millions involved in the game," Evans told ESPN.

"Whereas, if you focus purely on the impact it could have here -- not only on football but also on the regions across Asia and the Pacific -- it's massive. There's still so much growth that needs to happen, and I think when people here see just how good women's football is on a global scale and how big a following it has, perceptions and culture will start to shift.

"It definitely validates the work we've been doing. You feel trusted. FIFA knows football can thrive here, and that decision, that level of investment, proves it."

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In the past year alone, several women's leagues have started up or improved their formats in a number of Pacific nations -- including Tahiti, the Cook Islands, Fiji, Papua New Guinea, and the Solomon Islands. Part of the boom, Evans believes, is due to FIFA's decision to expand the tournament to include more teams. With New Zealand automatically qualifying as co-hosts, the likelihood of another Oceania nation making its World Cup debut has never been higher.

Evans notes also that every country within the OFC now has "at least one women's football officers... that alone shows there are growing dedicated resources towards the women's game now. That's a big step for our region."

"To be honest, it feels like it's almost been bigger across the islands than it has been within New Zealand," Evans continued. "When I say that, New Zealand are now focused on delivering -- both what they can do with their national team and then also delivering the event itself -- whereas, for the rest of the Pacific, they've gone, 'we finally have a chance to be at a World Cup.'"

Evans' work with the OFC revolves around two major principles: Increasing opportunities for women and girls to participate in the game; and providing resources and structures to ensure women's football -- and football more generally -- can grow in a sustainable way.

"The more opportunity these girls and women have to play, obviously the better they're going to be in the long-run. But it's the same for coaches and referees; it's about making sure now that the infrastructure around them is right," Evans said. "It's fine to grow the game and have more people playing, but if you don't have the coaches and referees and administrators there to bring it to life, it's never going to be sustainable."

Finding a place to play is a particularly difficult task given the geography of Oceania. The combined land mass of the islands that make up the region is dwarfed by the several million square kilometres of Pacific Ocean between them, making even the most basic football tasks -- travelling to training and games, accessing equipment, finding new land to build fields -- especially tricky.

"There are so many issues when it comes to the geographical spread and transport among those islands; the spread is almost as big as Europe," Evans said. "It might look like the region covers all this space, but actually on that one island, there may only be one field or one area of beach to play on.

"Trying to encourage football in whatever space you can find is a big one. Making sure there are alternative formats to play -- beach soccer or futsal or other small-sided games -- is important, but that only gets you so far. At some point, you need to transition to full-sized pitches.

"Travel is another major issue. It could take two weeks to get by boat to a certain island for some of these communities. You might have an extremely talented player, but if it takes her four days to get a boat to the main city to play, and then she's expected to play or train at a national camp that week and then go back for four days on the boat again, she may have missed two weeks of school. She might also not have been in her best form due to the travel."

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Geography will also play a role when it comes to the promoting and broadcasting the tournament itself.

"There are issues with internet connections within the Pacific so there are conversations happening around setting up World Cup hubs: Where, within each country, there are certain venues fans can go to -- whether it's a stadium or a conference room -- to watch live matches," Evans told ESPN.

"How do we make the tournament as accessible as possible when travel, internet, infrastructure and timing tend to be easier elsewhere in the world? You and I [in New Zealand] can wake up in the middle of the night, open our laptops and chuck a game on; it's not quite as easy there. Taking the game to the people will be crucial.

Cultural norms and attitudes also make it difficult for women and girls to participate in football in the Pacific, where religion plays a major part in many communities and often shapes deeply the roles and responsibilities of men and women.

"In Australia and New Zealand, women's football is played on Sundays, but you can't play on Sundays in the islands because of religious views," Evans said. "It's not as simple as trying to convince them that it's fine, because the land and the fields in many of these countries belong to a particular community who will not let you play there.

"One coach told me that the biggest challenge he faced was getting families to provide their daughters the same opportunities as their sons. He'd ask them to take their son to a tournament and they'd say, 'Great! Take him! One less mouth to feed!' He might even make a career out of it.

"But you speak to them about their daughter -- same age, same talent, same situation -- and they lose a key cog in their household; their cook, their cleaner, the baby-sitter. It changes how the whole family operates. So it's hard to challenge those norms when that's something that works for them at this point in time."

Evans' hope, though, is that hosting the tournament will normalise the participation of women and girls in the game, and that creating more opportunities in football will provide them with the knowledge, skills, and pathways that don't just benefit the individual but also their families and communities more widely.

"We're now starting to see more girls staying at school or going to university, which is bringing some really educated women to the game and to the region," Evans said. "For me, what's important is creating a safe environment and platform where they can be involved in what is a very male-dominated sport and in male-dominated societies."

That, for Evans, is the most important legacy that hosting the 2023 Women's World Cup will have: Empowering women and girls across the region to dream big and pursue goals that may never have been on their horizons before.

"From an OFC perspective, [2023] is all about changing perceptions," Evans said. "It's quite a generic statement, but if we change the perceptions about what women and girls are capable of when given the opportunity -- whether as players, coaches, referees, administrators, commentators -- that will be the biggest thing that this World Cup can do here.

"It's so much bigger than football."

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How the 2023 Women's World Cup is already boosting football in Oceania - ESPN

Oceania Rugby gave fans a sneak peak of their welcome event last night for Fiji and New Zealand as the PacificAus Oceania 7s gets ready to kick off.

Teams were seen laughing and enjoying the night as Australia welcomed their neighboring guests.

Fiji will be making their international debut since the pandemic, all eyes are on the gold medalist as no one has seen how the new Fijian squad will perform on a big stage. Jerry Tuwai will be the captain for the defending champions as they aim for a back to back gold medal at the Olympic Games.

The Australian women are the returning gold medalists from the 2016 Rio Olympics, after that emotional final match against New Zealand. Australia will be missing Alicia Quirk who was a vital player for the 2016 squad, but will be graced with the return of Chloe Dalton who had previously suffered an injury. The ladies have had all eyes on them as the pressure rises for them to come home with a second gold medal.

New Zealand was also present last evening as they enter the games undefeated by the Australian men in their previous encounter, while the Black Ferns only lost one game to the gold medalists. The New Zealand womens 7s had recently suffered a devastating blow after Niall Williams, an important player for the squad suffered a neck injury which forced her to withdraw in the Oceania 7s and Tokyo Games.

Williams took on social media to announce her absence with a tearful video of her explain the ups and downs athletes have to go through in their career.

With the fun and games of the welcome party over, teams now get down to business as they make their final preparations for the Tokyo Olympics.

All three countries will stop at nothing and will not take anything less than a gold medal as a win. The Oceania Games will kick off in tomorrow, June 25 at 12am, the games will continue till June 27 as the three teams compete for dominance before flying to Tokyo for the Olympic Games.

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Oceania Sevens welcome teams before the action Planet Sevens - Planet Sevens

The Fiji Airways Men's National 7s team has beaten the Oceania 7s team 32-12 in their second match in the Oceania 7s.

Waisea Nacuqu scored twice while Rusiate Nasove, Meli Derenalagi, Napolioni Bolaca and Kitione Taliga scored a try each for Fiji.

Kavekini Tabu was shown a yellow card in the second half.

They had earlier beaten Australia 26-14 in their first match.

The national side has two more games tomorrow where they take on the All Blacks 7s team at 4.22pm and Australia at 9.30pm.

Fiji has two games on Sunday as well.

They take on the Oceania 7s team at 2.30pm and New Zealand at 8.07pm.

There are six rounds of matches in the Oceania 7s where each team will play each other twice.

The highest-ranked team after six matches will be declared the winner.

Oceania 7s 2021 Mens & Womens Fixtures

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Fiji beats the Oceania 7s team 32-12 in their second match - Fijivillage

There are, or have been, about half a dozen airlines known as Freedom Air or Freedom Airlines. Between the mid-1990s and late noughties, a low-cost carrier based in New Zealand adopted the name. Formally known as Freedom Air International but referred to as Freedom Air, the airline connected New Zealand with Australia and Fiji.

Like many full-service legacy airlines who have waded into the waters of low-cost flying, Freedom Air was Air New Zealands attempt to capture a slice of the low-cost pie. Like many full-service airlines who dived in, Air New Zealands foray ultimately failed. However, Freedom Air did fly for 13 years between 1995 and 2008. Air New Zealand gave it a red hot go.

In the mid-1990s, the low-cost flying space in Oceania didnt exist. There was a clutch of inefficient and fairly pricy legacy airlines flying around the region Air New Zealand, Qantas, Ansett Australia, and Air Pacific (now Fiji Airways).

Then in 1994, a New Zealand charter airline called Kiwi International Airlines began offering cut-price fares between New Zealand and several Queensland cities. That spurred Air New Zealand into the low-cost space. Kiwi International did not last long. The airlines last flight was in 1996.

There were no such dramas at Air New Zealand. Freedom Air was set up by the Mount Cook Group (part of Air New Zealand) and was originally known as South Pacific Air Charters. Freedom Air went on to fly out of six airports in New Zealand to Sydney (SYD), Melbourne (MEL), Newcastle (NTL), Gold Coast (OOL), Brisbane (BNE), and Cairns (CNS). The airline also operated flights to Nadi (NAN).

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Freedom Air was a pioneer in Oceanias low-cost market. Virgin Australia, then Virgin Blue, did not begin flying until 2000. Qantas Jetstar began operations in 2004. Freedom Air began flights using a Boeing 757-200 leased from Britannia Airways. But the 757 did not stay long in New Zealand.

Getting a handle on Freedom Airs planes is tricky. Different databases throw up different numbers, anything from 12 to 30 planes over the years. Leases and loans from the parent company complicate the picture. According to AeroTransport Data Bank (ATDB.aero) data, Freedom Air flew 30 planes over the years under its callsign. In addition to the single 757-200, the aircraft variously included 17 Airbus A320-200s and 12 Boeing 737-300s.

With low-cost carriers Virgin Blue and Jetstar established by the mid-noughties, Freedom Air and its Air New Zealand parent were feeling the competitive pinch. The axing of flights to NAN and NTL were the first signs of surrender.

Air New Zealand announced it was overhauling its trans-Tasman and Pacific services in a delicately titled press release in 2007. Since starting Freedom Air in 1995, trans-Tasman flying had become far more competitive, forcing prices down across the board.

We felt that in continuing the Freedom brand, we were not getting a lot of advantage or gain from that brand and that wed be better concentrating on one brand, a 2007 Reuters report quotes Air New Zealands Norm Thompson saying.

The low-cost airline shut up shop in early 2008. The planes went back to their owners, be it Air New Zealand or the various lessors. Air New Zealand took over many of the routes, although Freedom Airs demise spelled the end of international flights for Palmerston North (PMR) through to this day.

Not many people remember the New Zealand version of Freedom Air. But the airline played a significant role in introducing low-cost flying to the Oceania region and, in particular, shaking up the then cozy (and expensive) trans-Tasman flying arrangements.

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What Happened To New Zealands Freedom Air? - Simple Flying

Fiji Airways Mens National 7s Team training in Australia. [image: FRU]

The Fiji Airways Mens National 7s Team will be aiming to inspire Fijians and bring a smile on their faces by playing well in the Oceania 7s.

The team moved into camp before the second wave of COVID-19 hit Fiji and since then have been together in camp, preparing for the upcoming Oceania 7s and the Tokyo Olympic Games.

Senior player Kalione Nasoko says they should use the sacrifices to inspire the team and give back to the nation during these challenging times.

Nasoko who is making his comeback to the national team after some time away with injury is raring to go in the Oceania 7s.

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Nasoko will be joined by Josua Vakurinabili, Meli Derenalagi, Kavekini Tabu, Iosefo Masi, Asaeli Tuivuaka ,Joseva Talacolo, Taniela Sadrugu, Rusiate Nasove, Jerry Tuwai, Livai Ikanikoda, Napolioni Bolaca, Waisea Nacuqu, Jiuta Wainiqolo, Kaminieli Rasaku, Sireli Maqala, Aminiasi Tuimaba, Vilimoni Botitu and Alasio Naduva in the team for the Oceania 7s.

The Fiji Mens 7s team will take on Australia at 4pm this Friday in the Oceania 7s.

Fiji will then face the Oceania 7s team at 9.30pm Friday.

The national side has two more games on Saturday where they take on the All Blacks 7s team at 4.22pm and Australia at 9.30pm.

Fiji has two games on Sunday as well.

They take on the Oceania 7s team at 2.30pm and New Zealand at 8.07pm.

There are six rounds of matches in the Oceania 7s where each team will play each other twice.

The highest-ranked team after six matches will be declared the winner.

The Womens 7s team will play Australia at 5.06pm Friday and New Zealand at 10.14pm.

They will play the Oceania 7s team at 4.44pm Saturday and Australia at 10.36pm.

The Womens team will play New Zealand at 3.17pm and then play the Oceania 7s team at 8.33pm Sunday.

Oceania 7s 2021 Mens & Womens Fixtures

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7s team aims to inspire Fijians with their performance in Oceania 7s - Fijivillage

There's been a strong uptake from Pacific Island athletes getting vaccinated against Covid-19 in the lead-up to the Tokyo Olympics.

A first batch of AstraZeneca vaccine doses has arived in Vanuatu, 19 May 2021. Photo: Hilaire Bule

The Summer Games are scheduled to begin on 23 July, after being delayed by 12 months because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The International Olympic Committee said vaccination was "encouraged" but not compulsory for athletes.

Leaders at the Pacific Islands Forum meeting in February agreed to give consideration to Olympic athletes where possible after the primary targets in each country had been vaccinated.

Oceania National Olympic Committees (ONOC) President, Dr Robin Mitchell, said the local response has been very good.

"The Northern Pacific finished theirs in January. February was the latest for FSM, Palau, Guam, the Marshalls and American Samoa," he said.

"The last group starting, Vanuatu and Kiribati started (last) week, so essentially all of our athletes, officials we've asked them to cover, international federations - media as well - going into Tokyo."

Vanuatu Beach Volleyball President Debbie Masauvakalo (L) registers for the vaccine last month. Photo: Supplied/Hilaire Bule

The IOC struck a deal with Pzifer last month to make vaccines available to Olympians in countries that were not prioritising jabs for those travelling to Japan.

Mitchell said more than 80 percent of Olympic athletes around the world had been vaccinated a month ago and the hope is to get the number "closer to 100 percent or even better by the time we get to Tokyo".

A number of Olympic qualifying tournaments have been disrupted by the ongoing border restrictions around the world.

Robin Mitchell is on a committee assessing the qualifying criteria for Tokyo and said the final list of athletes will be confirmed at the end of the month.

"We're getting quite a few changes in the last couple of weeks where they have to make decisions on previous competitions.

"Hopefully that will sort itself out for sports like beach volleyball, for Vanuatu in particular, and I think boxing and weightlifting is also pending and then athletics and swimming have until the end of the month, or quite late in the piece, before the final numbers are determined."

Oceania cautious

Opinion polls have consistently shown a majority of the Japanese public want the Olympics to be cancelled or further postponed.

Tokyo remains under a state of emergency but Robin Mitchell said the situation on the ground for athletes and officials is safe.

ONOC President Robin Mitchell. Photo: ONOC

"The terminology they used is 'cautious not concern'. What's happening in Tokyo is no different to what is happening in Fiji (where Mitchell is based) - basically it's containment zones - defined and targeted lockdowns within the confinement zone.

"By the time we get to Tokyo we'll probably have minimum contact with the local population, except those that are servicing the Games Village, transport staff etc."

The biggest question from athletes has not been about whether they should go to Tokyo, Mitchell said, but a desire for clarification about what they can do when they get there.

From the feedback the athletes are not so much asking about Tokyo but what to have confirmation about participation, for those that are still undergoing qualifying tournaments, and also dates on the playbook."

A playbook with the Covid guidelines for athletes in Tokyo will be released in the coming days.

Once people have fulfilled their quarantine requirements they will be able to move around freely within venues such as Games Village, so long as they adhere to Covid-19 protocols, Mitchell said.

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Oceania Olympians leading the vaccination charge towards Tokyo - RNZ

Paralympic athletes in the Islands of the Oceania region will be giving a significant boost towards the preparations for the Tokyo Games, thanks to a new initiative by the Australian Government and the Australian Olympic Committee.

Due to the impact of COVID-19, many Pacific athletes are facing significant challenges in completing final training programmes and competing at critical qualifying events. But with the support from the Australian Governments PacificAus Sports programme, Oceania athletes will be able to have the greatest opportunity to realise their Paralympic dreams.

More than 170 Olympic and Paralympic athletes from 11 Pacific nations will benefit from the grant, including the athletes that fly under the banner of the Oceania Paralympic Committee (OPC) benefiting from a number of initiatives.

The OPC will hold two national camps at a value of AU$ 10,000 (EUR 6376) each, in Fiji, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and Papua New Guinea, all to take place in June and July.

Funding will support a Pre-Games Training Camp in Fiji, prior to departure to Tokyo, worth AU$ 15,000 (EUR 9565) for NPCs who will travel together to Tokyo via Fiji Airways.

And finally, funding will also support Fijian athlete Inosi Bulimairewa, who is based in Australia, to put the finishing touches on his preparations. This will include funding for training fees, transport, gym fees and COVID vaccinations.

The OPC President Paul Bird thanked the Australian government and the AOC for its support to Paralympians from across the region on their journey to Tokyo.

The Paralympic Games is the pinnacle of sport for people with disabilities, but for so many people across the Oceania region, the Paralympic Games is so much more, Bird said.

The Games are symbolic of a life many from the region would never dream possible, particularly with obstacles faced day-to-day such as disability and medical care, transport, the cost of training.

The funding received today from the Australian government and the Australian Olympic Committee is vital to assist our Pacific Island Paralympians to reach their goals and achieve their best in Tokyo.

Like all athletes, they have been impacted by the pandemic and this support will ensure they are able to train and prepare for the Games.

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Pacific Island Para athletes receive boost from Australian government and AOC - International Paralympic Committee

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL - (REUTERS) Here's what you need to know about the coronavirus today:

Australia's Melbourne eyes way out of lockdown

Australia's Victoria state authorities said plans to ease Covid-19 restrictions in state capital Melbourne this week remained "on track" as new locally acquired cases declined on Tuesday.

Victoria, Australia's second most populous state, was plunged into a one-week lockdown on May 27 to contain a virus outbreak, forcing its 7 million residents to remain home except for essential business.

The lockdown was extended in Melbourne until June 10, while some . . .

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What you need to know about the coronavirus in Asia/Oceania today (June 8) - The Rio Times

After appearing in several music videos, Mr Supranational Asia & Oceania 2017 Altamash Faraz is making his acting debut with the TV show Yeh Hai Chahatein. The actor is presently shooting for the show in Goa, and will return to Mumbai next week, once TV shoots resume in the city. I will be entering as the male lead as there will be some changes in the storyline of the show, says Altamash, adding that he is getting used to shooting for long hours, as is usual for daily soaps. Each day is a learning experience for me. Everything happens too fast on the sets, and I am getting used to this pace of shooting. Whenever you get into something new, you do take time to adjust initially and the same is happening with me, but it has been a very exciting experience, he says.Altamash, a lawyer from Delhi, has been wanting to pursue acting since 2017, but ended up participating in the Mr India pageant instead. He says that it proved to be the best decision of his life. I studied law and never gave acting a serious thought back then. But after completing my studies, I realised that I want to try it, and began searching for opportunities. I came across the Mr India pageant, where I was the second runner up. I then went ahead to bag the title of Mr Supranational Asia and Oceania. It helped me not just get exposure, but also many opportunities. The best part about participating in a pageant is that you get to work on your personality, says Altamash. After winning the pageants, he says he was offered many shows in the last couple of years but wasn't convinced about any of the roles. I was never convinced about the content or the characters. Fortunately, everything about this show seemed right. I was never someone who shied away from making a debut with a TV show. I think if one has potential, one can find opportunities. Also, I feel TV is the medium that provides the most visibility to an actor, says Altamash.

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Mr Supranational Asia & Oceania 2017 Altamash Faraz to make his acting debut with a TV show - Times of India