NEWSROOM: 26 August - 01 September 2007

Samoa on a three game winning streak
01 Septembert 2007 - Source: South Pacific Games Committee Press Release

The Samoan men’s beach volleyball team started day two of the volleyball competition with a win against their brothers from American Samoa.

The first set saw the Samoan team use good combination play, powerful spikes and feints to comfortably take the set 21-10.

Faalefu Leaupepe was the standout player with good placement of the ball, sending the ball into open space in the opposition court to keep the American Samoan team on their toes.

The second set saw the American Samoan team match the Samoan duo in intensity and took the game down to the wire. It was like watching mirror images at play. Samoa prevailed in the end taking the set 21.

In another exciting match, Samoa won over Vanuatu. First set kicked-off with a big bang and both teams were fired-up to give each other hell. Vanuatu came on strong with tons of big powerful hits and the home team didn’t look composed under pressure.

The home crowd thought it was all over but the Samoan boys had a trick up their sleeve. The Samoan team used a lot of line shots causing Vanuatu to lose momentum. Samoa won the first set 21-17.

In the second set Vanuatu came out firing to give them a good lead of 17-14, forcing Samoa to take a timeout.

The Samoan men’s team won their second game of the day against Guam. The Samoan team of Faalefu Leaupepe and Francis Uso went from strength to strength after their loss to the strong Tongan team yesterday. The game was competitive, with Guam giving as good as they got. Samoa won 21-17, 21-18.
 

History of Samoa luxury edition planned for hotels
31 August 2007 - Source: Kevin Kearns

Eneliko (Liko) S. Smith, CEO and founder of Rogue Hospitality has agreed to commission and underwrite expenses for historian Lealamanu'a J. Robert Shaffer to oversee and execute a hard bound, luxury edition of Samoa's history from 1900 to the present day. The commission will provide for an associate director, historian, graphic artist, editor, and several assistants. Tentatively titled "Samoa - The Road to Independence.", this luxury edition of Samoan history will be placed into every single room owned by Rogue Hospitality in Samoa such as those of the Kitano Tusitala Hotel (once it is purchased) and each of the hotels along the beachfront in Mulivai, Safata, that the company plans to begin constructing next year. Rogue Hospitality plans to have the edition in over 500 rooms in Samoa by 2009 and over 1,000 published.

Planning for the future
Liko, a former Adjunct Professor of Hotel and Motel Management (Chaffey College, Rancho Cucamonga, CA ‘99/’00 and Monterey Peninsula College, Monterey CA ‘01/’02) sees the value in education for all Samoan Children. He wants them to learn as much as possible about their roots, history, and cultural heritage, and plans to take a personal interest in developing the book to meet the high standards of education in Samoa and abroad. Part of Rogue's promise is to build and develop onto the site in Safata a special school for the children from the village of Vaiee and surrounding area, where Liko's grandfather was born and raised. The school will be named after Liko's grandfather Leulu Vaa, who was an avid proponent of education and discipline. The end goal is to include this book as part of the history curriculum in the school and possibly others.

Touched by the Head Of State of Samoa
"When I visited with Tuiatua Tupua Tamasese, Samoa's new Head of State, in Samoa, his highness shared with me his efforts and plight to turn around the recent suicide issues that had plagued the youth of Samoa and his vision to educate Samoan children about the importance and pride of Samoan heritage and why the ways of old could guide them in this time of globalization. I was deeply touched by his highness's vision and remember my darkest moments as a soldier in the US Infantry, as a boxer with an unclear future, and as a businessman trying to make his way in the world, and it was only my deep belief in God and my ancestral heritage, that I was able to draw upon my strength," says Liko. "My parents had taught me my whole life, that being Samoan was something special. I want to share that gift to all the children of Samoa," he finishes. Smith plans to ask the Honorable Tuiatua Tupua Tamasese to write the foreword for the luxury editions.

A vast undertaking with multiple uses
The project cost is estimated between $1.2 to 1.6 million SAT. The research, assimilation and publication for the project will involve a year or more of traveling, data assimilation, and archive research in the countries of England, Germany, Australia, New Zealand and Samoa. Results of the travels, photos, and intellectual property from the study will all become the property of Liko S. Smith which will be used by Rogue where it will serve secondary uses for hotel purposes such as photos for the rooms and the common areas, assist in the development of design ideas and concepts for the hotel and also serve as educational elements throughout the properties. In conjunction with the Head of State of Samoa, many items from the research will be donated for his honour’s purposes which may include a museum about the history of Samoa and any other purpose that he is considering. Finally, Samoan Associations in New Zealand, Australia, Germany and the US will also be granted copyright to publish requested items for the educational purposes of their organisations.

Lealamanu'a J. Robert Shaffer
J. Robert "Rob" Shaffer is no stranger of Samoa. He has been associated with Samoa for over 49 years. He has lived in Samoa for 22 of those years, first in 1964 and then again in 1967. In 1969 he started serving as a United States Peace Corps volunteer in the village of Iva, in Savai'i, as a science teacher. He lived with the family of the late Magele Ropati in Vaiafai, where he taught for two years. He became training director for Peace Corps volunteers in 1971 and moved to Apia. In 1972, Shaffer was sent to Washington DC as a specialist on American Samoa for the US Department of the Interior where he served in 1975 and 1976; during that year, the chiefs and orators of Iva, Savai'i, bestowed upon him the matai title "Lealamanu'a." Mr. Shaffer has been researching Samoa's history and compiling Samoa's historical documents for more than 30 years. Shaffer has written a book entitled “Samoa”, the novel covers Samoan history from 1,300 BC to 1967. In 2000, upon request by the late Governor Tauese Fiti Sunia of American Samoa, Shaffer published the coffee table historical book "American Samoa – 100 years under the American Flag," praised by librarians and historians as possibly one of the best books every published about a Polynesian Country. He is married to Sina Liain of Papauta, Apia, and they have three children, all born in Samoa.

When asked why he was so keen to begin a 12 to 18 month project in four countries about Samoa's fight for independence. He stated the following:
• All Polynesian peoples can trace their origins back to Samoa.
• Samoa has a dynamic and dramatic history that is unique throughout the Pacific.
• Samoa is the only Pacific Island country to defeat a European Power on the battlefield.
• Samoa became the first Pacific island country to gain independence.
• Samoa's great historical leaders fought on the battlefields and in international politics for nearly 100 years for its independence, which was achieved in 1962.

Shaffer plans to submit his thoughts to Liko on a second edition once this first edition is completed, covering the dawn of mankind to 1900 for the Samoan people.

Fighting Commercialisation
Liko visited Fiji recently and stayed in several beautiful hotels such as the Sofitel, Radisson, and Hilton. Unfortunately, nothing inside the rooms told him much about the culture of the people of the island. As a person that travels often, he would sometimes wake up wondering where he was from one day to the next. One day he had thought he had landed in Los Angeles when in fact he was still in Nadi, Fiji. He promised himself that all of his hotels in Samoa would make it very clear to the guests what country they were visiting; having excellent reading material about the quest for independence in Samoa was the start. Other indicators will be the employees, layout, design, architecture, landscaping and events throughout the property. Rogue Hotels in Samoa, though very technologically advanced, will display true Samoan heritage and hospitality from check-in to departure and brand the country of Samoa as the most authentic in the Pacific.

"Samoa will not sacrifice its culture on the altar of Globalisation" Misa Foni, Deputy Prime Minister, Samoa


For more information on the project, please contact Kevin Kearns, Vice President of Public Relations for Rogue Hospitality at kevin@roguehospitality.com
 

Samoa's female bodybuilders flex for SPG
30 August 2007 - Source: South Pacific Games Committee Press Release

Viola Timoteo-Etuata is representing Samoa in the under-57kg division. Being a two-time Miss South Pacific Women's Champion, she was given the honour of being one of the South Pacific Games flag-bearers at the Opening Ceremony. Other members of the women's bodybuilding team include Debra Wilson Tafili, current Miss South Pacific Champion, and Eleanor Cockburn, who was placed fourth in the 2005 Women's World Championships representing New Zealand. Samoa has five women competing in the South Pacific Games.

The Samoan bodybuilding team's recent success at the Sonny Schmidt competition in Auckland has given it a big morale boost as preparations heat-up for the games. Timoteo-Etuata says, "It was great to tweak our routines and poses at the Sonny Schmidt Classic. We were also able to mentally prepare ourselves for SPG". Timoteo-Etuata won gold in her division. Fellow team-member, Eleanor Cockburn, who competed in the under-52kg division, also won.

Since arriving in Samoa from New Zealand, the women's bodybuilding contingent has been training heavily at Joe's Gym in Lotopa. Timoteo-Etuata is feeling confident, and having persistently trained, she is relaxed about the outcome of the games.

The dietary and fitness regime for bodybuilders in training is very strict. The average bodybuilder will spend 12 weeks before an event focusing on dieting-down and dietary fitness. On a normal day for Timoteo-Etuata, she wakes up at 3 or 4am to do house-chores. At 5am, she starts getting ready to do one hour of cardiovascular exercise. Then, she is off to work for a full day before undertaking 1.5 hours of weight training and another 30 minutes to 1 hour of cardiovascular exercise. Timoteo-Etuata aims to get to bed by 8.30pm, but admits that this is difficult.

Around her busy day, Timoteo-Etuata has to concentrate on getting the right dietary needs to get her body ready for competition. After the morning cardiovascular exercise, Timoteo-Etuata consumes five egg whites and an egg yolk, mixed with flaxseed oil. Lunch and dinner usually consist of either fish or chicken with steamed vegetables. In between the main meals, she will have a protein shake. As competition day looms, the competitors cut more out of their diet to strip their water intake. Due to the unique nature of the bodybuilding team's diet, they are not eating at the dining halls with other athletes, but have special meals catered for them.

However, there will be no rest for Timoteo-Etuata after the South Pacific Games. She will be training for the nationals in New Zealand. She hopes that she and her team members will find some time to go to the beach and celebrate.

The Samoa Bodybuilding Team for SPG 2007:
Eleanor Cockburn
Tauvale Fala
Daisy Lee Neru
Viola Timoteo-Etuata
Deborah Tafili Wilson
 

Tokelau stands up to Samoa in their first ever SPG
29 August 2007 - Source: South Pacific Games Committee Press Release

In the second game of the South Pacific Games (SPG) Netball Tournament, Tokelau put on a strong performance against the sixth best netball team in the world, Samoa. The atmosphere was heated thanks to an enthusiastic crowd cheering the girls along. Despite Tokelau's best efforts, Samoa won the match 46-33.

Samoa had a slow start to the match with the score tied eleven all at the end of the first quarter. The high standard expected of the Samoan team was demonstrated better in the second quarter when a five point lead was secured on the score board.

This was the first time Tokelau has entered a team into the SPG Netball Tournament and they provided strong competition for Team Samoa. The team formed 12 months ago and all reside in New Zealand. They have attended training camps every couple of months and have built team spirit by keeping in touch and encouraging each other via email.

"We are just so proud of the girls particularly because this is their first time playing at SPG. It is a fantastic result for us." said Tokelau Team Manager Elizabeth Perez.

As the more experienced team a stronger performance was expected of Samoa but according to Caroline Ah Chong, Team Samoa's Co-captain they weren't particularly surprised at Tokelau's performance.

"We had seen them play against the Solomons and also training so we were aware of their high standard. I was happy with our performance in the last two quarters of the game but we could have had a stronger start. We will go now and reflect on the game and the mistakes we made and try and improve on them before our next game" said Ah Chong.

Overall round two of the tournament produced a very exciting game between two evenly matched teams. On the second day of competition, Samoa will play Vanuatu at 5.30pm and Tokelau will face Papua New Guinea at 1pm.
 

XIII South Pacific Games 2007 in Samoa begins
28 August 2007 - Source: Radio Australia Sports

A five year old fire dancer has stolen the show at the South Pacific Games opening ceremony in Apia, Samoa on Saturday.

The traditional warriors dance shows bravery and determination and the little girl thrilled the crowd with her dexterity.

The ceremony went for three and a half hours but was full of song and dance.

Fiji led the athletes out into the stadium as host of the last games, Suva 2003 followed by the rest of the 22 nations which are represented at these games.

The nations arrived alphabetically, America Samoa and Cook Islands and then the world champion at these games, weightlifter Manuel Minginfel carried the flag for the Federated States of Micronesia.

Kiribati followed and then the mighty Nauruan team, led by weightlifter Yukio Peter.

He has represented the Nauru in weightlifting at both the Olympic and Commonwealth Games and is heading for Beijing.

Niue and the Northern Marianas came in front of the giant Papua New Guinea squad, promising great things at these games.

Solomon Islands were out in force as was Tokelau, the first team to arrive in Samoa after a 23-hour ferry ride.

Tonga arrived next followed by a Tuvaluan team led by their only international medallist, Logona Esau and then it was Wallis and Futuna' s flag bearer, Olivier Maleselino Taufaiva.

Guam came in led by flag bearer, Oceania heavyweight champion judoka, Ricardo Blas junior and then it was the Marshall Islands.

New Caledonia and Norfolk Islands, Palau then Vanuatu came out, all but swamped by the roar of the crowd when the Samoans arrived.

Manu Samoa stopped down for a haka, the crowd roar surged and the games where definitely underway.

Chairman of these games, Tapasu Leung Wai said he was pleased with the opening.

During his opening speech, Leung Wai referred to a series of accreditation issues around the games, calling for resolution amongst nations and sporting groups so the games could proceed in the spirit of competition.

Organisers have battled with several aspects of these games, most serious has been the accreditation of volunteers causing near riots at the central Apia accreditation office.

Police units were called to the office when volunteers began pushing and shoving after hours of waiting in line.

The accreditation passes give access to the venues, bus travel and meal tickets.

Volunteers had been on call for days without these benefits.

At these XIII South Pacific Games - Samoa 2007, Samoa is hosting 22 nations across 33 codes of sport at these games.

Soccer competition has begun, with 13 nations beginning on the path towards World Cup qualification.

New Caledonia defeated Tahiti, 1-nil in the opening game of the men's soccer competition.

Fiji took no mercy on Tuvalu destroying the non-FIFA affiliates 16-0.

In Pool B, Solomon Islands romped home to victory in their opening match, smacking twelve goals past the hapless American Samoa at J.S.Blatter Playing Field in Apia.

In the women's competition Fiji have started their South Pacific Games Women's Football Tournament with a resounding 4-1 victory over Cook Islands.

Papua New Guinea also scored a major victory over American Samoa.
 

Business of the Week: Datec Group
27 August 2007 - Source: Datec Group

Datec Group has 20 years of experience and success in the information technology industry in the South Pacific area. In this time, the organisation has established an incomparable wealth of knowledge of the region's diverse markets and acquired an extraordinary depth of understanding of the needs of the private and public sectors.

Originally established as a private organisation, Datec Group became a public company in 1999 when it was acquired by Brocker Technology Group Ltd., a Canadian company incorporated in 1993 and listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange in 1994.

The success of Datec Group's strategy is reflected in the remarkable growth and expansion the company has experienced in the past few years. At the time of acquisition, Datec Group had offices in Australia, Papua New Guinea and Fiji; since then, Datec Group has also established offices in Vanuatu, Tonga, Samoa and New Zealand, and expanded its roster of products and services as well as its employee base.

The products and services of Datec Group are organised into four core business areas:

• Systems Integration - distribution and sale of computer and telecommunications hardware and software.

• Professional Services - including the provision of technical support and services.

• Managed Services - outsourcing activities, hosting and operating networks for clients.

• Software Applications design and development.

Datec Group now has 400 employees in the seven countries in which it operates. Operations headquarters are located in Auckland, New Zealand. Corporate headquarters for the parent company are located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
 

Person of the Week: Doctor Erika Puni
26 August 2007 - Source: Doctor Erika Puni

Dr. Erika Fereti Puni commenced his theological training at Fulton College, Fiji (1977-1979) where he received a Diploma in Theology. His first pastoral assignment was to the Seventh-day Adventist church at Leone, American Samoa.

After five and half years of pastoral work (Leone and New Lynn, New Zealand) and youth ministry in New Zealand (North NZ Conference), Erika pursued further theological studies in the United States.

In 1987 he graduated with a Masters in Religion (Church Ministry Emphasis) from Loma Linda University, California; received his Masters in Missiology (Evangelism and Church Growth) from Fuller Theological Seminary, Pasadena, California in 1990, and graduated with a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Intercultural Studies (majoring in Leadership and Cultural Anthropology) from the same University in 1993.

Dr. Puni has served the Seventh-day Adventist Church for twenty eight years in various ministry capacities of his church organisation. In recent times, however, he was the first Samoan to serve in the regional headquarters of the SDA Church in the South Pacific with its head office in Sydney, Australia where he was the Director for Stewardship, Sabbath School and Personal Ministries for a period of five years (2001-2005).

As a Samoan, Dr. Puni was the first Pacific Island lecturer at Avondale College, New South Wales, Australia, where he was a Theology Professor for two years (1999-2000). In July, 2005, at St Louis, USA, the General Conference of the SDA Church in its quenquennial session elected Dr. Puni as the Stewardship Director for the world, and he is currently based at the church world headquarters in Silver Spring, Maryland, USA.

Dr. Puni is married to Maxine Simeti, and they have an infant daughter Janae-Grace.
 

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