1981

President makes call for decentralisation of IOC

The IOC President, Juan Antonio Samaranch convenes a meeting to encourage formation of regional zones throughout the world. Meeting held during Olympic Congress in Baden-Baden, West Germany. 

Concept of ONOC designed and driven 

Discussion: procedures for establishing the “National Olympic Committees of Oceania” to promote the development of Olympism in the region and on coordination and distribution of Olympic Solidarity funds for sports development. Committee prepares the initial Constitution for ONOC. 

Games

Solomon Islands hosts Inaugural South Pacific Mini Games in Honiara. 

1982

Inaugural ONOC Meeting

ONOC inaugural meeting in Melbourne, Australia. Adoption of ONOC Constitution, discussion of allocation of 1982 Solidarity funding for the region - special grant of US$75,000 for initial administrative expenses. Provisional Office Bearers confirmed.  

Inaugural Olympic Solidarity Fund supported programme

First-ever Olympic Solidarity (OS) Fund supported programme held in Suva. Pacific sports leaders gather to begin process of forming National Olympic Committees NOCs. 

Second ONOC Meeting‍

ONOC Second Meeting held in Wellington, NZ. Review of ONOC Constitution.   

Games

8 Oceania countries attend the Commonwealth Games held in Brisbane, Australia.

1983

ONOC AGM 

ONOC AGM in Boroko, PNG on 24 June.  

Solomon Islands joins ONOC.

ONOC Logo‍

ONOC adopts its first logo designed by Phil Coles.

IOC President’s Inaugural Pacific Visit

IOC President Juan Antonio Samaranch makes his Inaugural Visit to the Pacific Region and encourages growing new member NOCs.

Games

Western Samoa hosts SPG in Apia.

1984

ONOC-AIS Special Meeting

Special meeting held at Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) in Canberra, Australia marking genesis of a long partnership that has continued to date. 

ONOC AGM 

ONOC AGM held at AIS in Canberra, Australia. 

Capacity building future Pacific sports leaders 

Zone Administration Course held in Fiji. This goes on to produce many current leaders in sports administration throughout the Pacific. 

ONOC Medical Commission established‍

ONOC establishes its own Medical Commission.   

IOC recognition  

Western Samoa admitted into the Olympic Movement. 

Games 

Olympic Games held in Los Angeles, USA. In addition to 6 official members of the ONOC, Tonga given special dispensation to participate.

1985

ONOC SGs Meeting

The ONOC Secretaries General meet in Fiji. Key Decision: Future meetings of SGs be held in conjunction with the AGMs to minimise travel and accommodation costs.

Capacity building

Oceania Olympic Academy (OOA) held at the AIS in Canberra, Australia.  

ONOC Medical Commission accesses capacity building in physiotherapy – a first for ONOC.  

ONOC AGM‍

ONOC AGM in Rotorua, NZ.

IOC Recognition 

American Samoa is recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). 

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Games 

Cook Islands hosts the 2nd South Pacific Mini Games.

1986

ONOC Meetings

ONOC Zone Meeting held in Seoul, South Korea (within ANOC General Assembly).

ONOC AGM held in Fiji. 

IOC Recognition

Tonga gains recognition by the IOC.  

Games  

7 Oceania countries attend the Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh, Scotland. It is the first for Cook Islands and Norfolk Island.

1987

IOC President – Second Pacific Visit

IOC President, Mr Juan Antonio Samaranch makes his Second Visit to the Pacific Region.  

ONOC Meetings

ONOC Administration Committee meets in Suva, Fiji.
ONOC Secretaries General meet in Apia, Western Samoa.
ONOC AGM held on 28th May 1987. 

IOC Member appointed from Oceania

Seiuli Paul Wallwork is made an IOC member in Samoa. 

Games

New Caledonia hosts 8th South Pacific Games in Noumea.

1988

Two new ONOC Commissions formed

Development Commission and Finance Commission formed.

IOC Member appointed in NZ 

Sir Tay Wilson appointed an IOC Member in NZ. 

Games 

Olympic Games held in Seoul, Korea. First Olympic Games for newly established ONOC members - American Samoa, Guam, Cook Islands and Vanuatu.

1989

ONOC Meetings 

ONOC Secretaries General Meeting held in Melbourne, Australia.

ONOC AGM held in Melbourne, Australia - a Constitution Review Committee created. Election of office bearers for next Olympiad.

ONOC President, Sir Lance Cross passes on  

Sir Lance Cross, founding member and serving President of ONOC passes on 13 May. 

Games ‍

Tonga hosts the 3rd South Pacific Mini Games.

ONOC HQ established in NZ

The ONOC Headquarters is established in Wellington, NZ via the personal generosity and commitment of Tay Wilson.

1990

ONOC General Assembly 

General Assembly held in Guam.

Special ONOC Meeting

Held in Barcelona prior to the ANOC Assembly. 

Games  

10 countries from Oceania attend the Commonwealth Games in Auckland, NZ. Includes Nauru attending for the first time.

1991

ONOC Anniversary

ONOC celebrates 10 Years.‍

‍

ONOC Executive Meeting

ONOC Executive Council meet in Port Moresby, PNG prior to inspecting venues and facilities for SPG Games. 

Sports scholarships

First intake of scholarship placements into Olympic Training Centre (OTC) at Canberra. OTC scholarships open to all Oceania NOCs except Australia and NZ.

ONOC AGM and New Constitution 

Held in Nadi, Fiji. New ONOC Constitution adopted. 

Games 

PNG hosts 9th South Pacific Games in Port Moresby.

1992

ONOC General Assembly

Held in Rarotonga, Cook Islands.

Games 

Olympic Games held in Barcelona, Spain. All 11 NOCs from Oceania attend.

1993

Sydney wins Olympic Games bid

Sydney, Australia wins bid to host Olympic Games in 2000.

ONOC General Assembly

ONOC General Assembly held in Auckland, New Zealand. Features the election of new office bearers for the next Olympiad. 

ONOC Office relocation

The ONOC Office was relocated to the Domain in Suva with newly elected Secretary General Dr Robin Mitchell.

ONOC Constitution

New ONOC Constitution accepted. 

Games  

Vanuatu hosts 4th South Pacific Mini Games in Port Vila.

1994

IOC President – Third Visit to the Pacific

ONOC General Assembly held in Apia, Samoa. 

IOC President, Juan Antonio Samaranch and ANOC President, Mario Vazquez Raña visit Samoa. 

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‍IOC Recognition

Nauru gains recognition by IOC. ‍

‍

Dr Mitchell becomes IOC Member‍

Dr Robin Mitchell appointed to membership of the IOC. ‍

‍

Scholarships Increase‍

Oceania Olympic Training Centre (OOTC) in Canberra receives increase in funding from Australian Government and this is matched by OS. Scholarships increase from 26 to 40 per year.‍

‍

Games‍

ONOC countries compete in three regional competitions: Micronesian Games (Guam), the Commonwealth Games (Canada) and the Winter Olympic Games in Lillehammer. Australia wins its first ever Winter Olympic medal.

1995

ONOC Executive Meeting

ONOC Executive Committee meets in Sydney, Australia. 

ONOC Development Commission meets ONOC Oceania representatives of International Federations in Sydney, Australia.

Sports Ministers Meeting

Sports Ministers from the Independent Pacific Islands meet in Sydney, Australia to review preps for the Sydney Olympic Games, visit AIS. Australia South Pacific (ASP) 2000 Sports Programme officially launched from Canberra, Australia.

‍
ONOC Meetings in Port Vila, Vanuatu

ONOC AGM
ONOC Secretaries General Meeting. 

ONOC General Assembly. 

ONOC adopts policy on doping‍

ONOC adopts a Doping Policy proposed by ONOC Medical Commission.

Games

10th South Pacific Games held in Tahiti. 4 countries boycott the games due to French nuclear testing on Mururoa.

1996

Games

ONOC NOCs send teams to Olympic Games in Atlanta, USA.

12 Oceania NOCs attend the Atlanta Olympic Games, including Nauru in their first appearance. ‍

‍

First Olympic Games medal for a Pacific islander

Paea Wolfgramm (TGA) becomes the first Pacific Islander representing his home country to win an Olympic Medal, a Silver Medal in boxing.

1997

ONOC Olympic Academy

ONOC holds an Olympic Academy in Sydney attended by office bearers of all Oceania NOCs. 

ONOC General Assembly 

ONOC General Assembly held in Guam. 

OSIC launched in Suva‍

Oceania Sports Information Centre (OSIC) launched at USP Laucala Campus in  Suva, Fiji. ‍

‍

Games‍

American Samoa hosts 5th South Pacific Mini Games. 

Scholarships and Grants‍

40 scholarships to Oceania NOCs by OOTC at AIS through joint funds from Olympic Solidarity and the Australian Government. 53 grants awarded to High Performance athletes from island NOCs funded by the Australia South Pacific 2000 programme.

Pacific leaders issue statement on sport‍

PIFS leaders issue the communique (Rarotonga Declaration) including on Sport in the Pacific region resolving to support the development of sport in the Pacific Region.

IOC Recognition

The Federated States of Micronesia gains IOC recognition.

1998

ONOC General Assembly

ONOC GA held in Nadi, Fiji. 

Website

ONOC launches its website. 

Games

14 Oceania countries participate in Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur Malaysia including Niue, Tuvalu and Kiribati for the first time.

IOC President’s Fourth Pacific Visit

IOC President, Juan Antonio Samaranch makes his fourth Pacific Visit and presents former FASANOC President, Sofaia Raddock with an Olympic Order (Silver).

1999

ONOC General Assembly

18th ONOC General Assembly held at Olympic Museum in Lausanne, Switzerland. The meeting is preceded by a workshop at the IOC Headquarters in Vidy looking at future plans for ONOC post-Sydney 2000.‍

‍

Olympic Education  

ONOC holds Olympic Education workshop in Nadi, Fiji to develop teaching resource for 2000 Olympic Torch Relay.

Games

11th South Pacific Games held in Guam. 

IOC Recognition

Palau gains recognition by IOC. 

‍

Women in Sport capacity building 

Workshop for Women in Sport in Melanesia held in Port Vila, Vanuatu.

2000

Games

Sydney (Australia) hosts the Olympic Games. 
[Details of this historic event in Oceania Continent included in ONOC History booklet to be placed in Resources Centre on ONOC website].

ONOC General Assembly

19th ONOC General Assembly held in Nuku’alofa, Tonga

2001

ONOC General Assembly

20th ONOC General Assembly held in Nadi, Fiji. 

IOC President’s Fifth Pacific Visit

President of the IOC, H.E. Juan Antonio Samaranch attends last day of ONOC General Assembly in Nadi – highlights success of Sydney Games but cites Oceania NOCs accessing increasing resources but lagging in sports achievement urging Pacific SIDS members of ONOC to strive for Olympic medal wins. First use of technology at ONOC GA to share documents and offer internet services. 

ONOC Executive Meeting 

IOC Member Susie O’Neill, a member of the IOC Athletes’ Commission appointed Chair of the newly formed ONOC Athletes’ Commission.

ONOC assumes control of Olympic Solidarity programme for Oceania‍

ONOC takes up responsibility for the control of the Olympic Solidarity programme previously managed from Lausanne.  

‍
ONOC relocates HQ‍

ONOC moves to new headquarters within the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat (PIFS) Complex in Suva.  

Games

6th South Pacific Mini Games hosted by ONOC Associate Member, Norfolk Island.

2002

ONOC General Assembly

22nd ONOC General Assembly held in Port Moresby, PNG. ‍

‍

ONOC Executive 

Ms Baklai Temengil, Secretary General from Palau, joins ONOC Executive as fourth representative from the NOCs. 

Games

ONOC members attend Commonwealth Games in Manchester, England which becomes one of the most successful in terms of ONOC Pacific SIDS performances. 

IOC President Visits the Pacific

IOC President, Jacques Rogge visits and presents Vidhya Lakhan (Fiji) with the Olympic Order (Silver).

2003

Games

12th South Pacific Games held in Suva, Fiji.

Regional database established

A regional database for athletes, coaches and officials established under the umbrella of Oceaniasport.

ONOC work leads to web-based games management and results system‍

ONOC helps Organising Committee of SPG by establishing a Media and Results Centre staffed by NOC Sports Development Officers and selected media personnel from the region, and provides a ‘portable radio station’ to relay sports stories to the 22 member countries/territories of the SPG Council.

ONOC's work results in the establishment of a Regional Games Management and Sports Administration System, the first of its kind in the world. In partnership with the Australian Government and the Melbourne based company, Sporting Pulse, ONOC established a web portal that included a website for every NOC and their member National Federations, and a Web Based results and Games Management System for Regional and National Multi-sport Games as well as for the individual sport championships.

Olympoceania projects begin in Oceania

The first Olympoceania Projects got underway in Solomon Islands and Vanuatu – the establishing of HQs and income earning assets for the two NOCs.

IOC Recognition

Kiribati gains IOC recognition.

2004

ONOC General Assembly

ONOC General Assembly held in Palau. 

Games

ONOC members participate in Olympic Games in Olympic Games held in Athens, Greece. Pacific SIDS members obtain 3 top 10 finishes and 2 Olympic diplomas (PNG and Nauru).

ONOC Women in Sport Commission

The ONOC Women in Sport Commission formally established with Baklai Temengil (Palau) as Chair

2005

ONOC General Assembly

ONOC General Assembly held in Brisbane attended by new President of the IOC, Dr Jacques Rogge.

Formal acceptance of OSFO

OSFO formally accepted at ONOC GA.

IOC Awards

Sir John Dawanincura receives an Olympic Order (Silver) for his services to the Olympic Movement, and in particular, for his contributions to ONOC.

Sir Tay Wilson retires as an IOC Member and honoured with the Oceania Order of Merit along with ONOC’s first Secretary General, Julius Lockington Patching.

Sport gains traction with Pacific Leaders

PIFS formally accepts ‘Sport’ as a legitimate Key Result Area in its Pacific Plan for the next ten years – a significant recognition by the Governments of the Pacific Region of the value of sport in the overall development of a nation.

Anti-Doping 

Regional Anti-Doping Organisation (RADO) established at ONOC office in Suva. 

Games

Palau hosts Mini South Pacific Games (SPG).

PNG hosts its Inaugural National Games.

2006

Games

Largest Pacific Islands contingent ever at a Commonwealth Games participate in Melbourne, Australia. Nauru, Fiji Samoa and PNG win medals.

‍

ONOC promotes island member NOCs 

ONOC establishes a combined administration, medical and IT Centre for Island Teams participating in Commonwealth Games in Melbourne to highlight performances.‍

‍

ONOC General Assembly celebrates 25th anniversary

ONOC 25th anniversary commemorated in Fiji during 26th ONOC General Assembly.

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‍IOC Recognition  

The Republic of the Marshall Islands gain Olympic recognition.