TheMicronesian Games (orMicro Games,MicroGames) are a quadrennial international multi-sport event within theMicronesian region. The Games were first held in 1969 inSaipan (Northern Mariana Islands). The2010 Micronesian Games were initially due to be held inMajuro (Marshall Islands), until the hosts withdrew. The 2010 Games were hosted byPalau.[1] TheFederated States of Micronesia won the bidding to host the2014 Micronesian Games inPohnpei State, and later won again against CNMI for the 2018 Micronesian Games, held inYap State.[2][3][4]
After the inaugural 1969 edition, the Games were supposed to be a regular event. However, the second edition did not take place until 1990. Since then, the Games have been held every four years without fail.
However, after the 2018 Micronesian Games in Yap State, the Republic of the Marshall Islands was set to host the 10th edition of the Micronesian Games in Majuro; but due to theCOVID-19 pandemic the Majuro MicroGames was pushed back to 2023. Following a May 23 virtual meeting of the Micronesian Games Council,[5] the 10th MicroGames was moved to June 15–24, 2024 in Majuro.[6]
| Rank | Association | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 285 | 317 | 293 | 895 | |
| 2 | 275 | 178 | 139 | 592 | |
| 3 | 256 | 220 | 179 | 655 | |
| 4 | 175 | 145 | 177 | 497 | |
| 5 | 122 | 174 | 151 | 447 | |
| 6 | 120 | 56 | 29 | 205 | |
| 7 | 53 | 71 | 74 | 198 | |
| 8 | 40 | 57 | 84 | 181 | |
| 9 | 19 | 21 | 69 | 109 | |
| 10 | Ponape/Kusaie(defunct) | 17 | 16 | 10 | 43 |
| 11 | 5 | 25 | 25 | 55 | |
| Totals (11 entries) | 1,367 | 1,280 | 1,230 | 3,877 | |
| Edition | Year | Host | Start | End | Sports | Events | Nations | Top association | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| I | 1969 | 4 July | 12 July | 6 | |||||
| II | 1990 | 7 July | 15 July | 7 | |||||
| III | 1994 | 26 March | 2 April | 9 | [8] | ||||
| IV | 1998 | 1 August | 9 August | 9 | |||||
| V | 2002 | 21 July | 30 July | 9 | |||||
| VI | 2006 | 23 June | 4 July | 9 | |||||
| VII | 2010 | 1 August | 10 August | 8 | |||||
| VIII | 2014 | 20 July | 29 July | 9 | [9] | ||||
| IX | 2018 | 15 July | 27 July | 10 | [10] | ||||
| X | 2024 | 15 June | 24 June | 10 | [11] | ||||
| XI | 2028 | Future event | [12] | ||||||
Participants include foursovereign countries (theMarshall Islands,Kiribati,Nauru, andPalau), acommonwealth in political union with theUnited States (theNorthern Mariana Islands), anorganized unincorporated territory of the United States (Guam), and the four constituent States of theFederated States of Micronesia (Chuuk,Pohnpei,Kosrae andYap, which compete separately from one another).
These ten countries, States and territories are all located within theMicronesian region ofOceania.
All participants also take part in thePacific Games, although theFederated States of Micronesia competes as a unified country there.
Athletes compete in the fields ofathletics,baseball,basketball,beach volleyball,fast pitch softball,association football,golf, slow pitch softball,spearfishing,swimming,table tennis,triathlon,va'a canoe,volleyball andwrestling, as well as the "Micronesian all-around", which includes events like coconut tree climbing and coconut husking.
The Micronesian Games thus combine events that may be found in other international competitions with events more specific to Micronesian countries.
TheMicronesian all-around (sometimes shortened toMicro all-round) is an unusual multi-event contest practiced at the Micronesian Games, a kind ofpentathlon featuring skills from a traditional island lifestyle. The 2018 version included the following events:[13]