By Loveni Enari

Feel like a dose of Samoan pride this weekend?  There’s a club team from Samoa looking to win at least four gold medals at the National Taekwondo championships in Kohimarama (19-20 Aug 2023).

The Barfoot and Thompson Stadium is hosting the tournament and Samoan club KLAS Taekwondo have arrived with big expectations.

According to the head coach Leuluaitumua Tapunuu Kaino Thomsen-Fuataga, anything less than four golds will be a disappointment.

Thomsen-Fuataga, himself a former Olympian and Oceania gold medalist, and current head coach of the Samoa national team:  "If we don’t get at least four golds we won’t be happy".

"We've got four national team members here who will be aiming to take out gold and I’m well aware of the level of competition they’ll be facing" he said from their base at Ngati Otara marae.

Those four members are Oswald Tapelu (-68kg), Ryan Eteuati (-74kg), Irae Mose Simi, (87kg+), and the only female from the national team, Tovale Filipo (-57kg) category.…more

By Thomas Airey

The Matildas, already Australia’s favourite team in sports long before the FIFA Women’s World Cup, are smashing every record there is for crowd attendance, television ratings and merchandise sales on their historic run in the tournament.

The nationwide interest is unprecedented but thanks to one forward’s starring role in the success it has been equalled in a village in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea.

A massive banner suspended over one of their streets reads ‘Kira Kira Village, the home of Koita Maiyago, Mary Boio Fowler’.

That means girl from our tribe – Fowler was born in Cairns but her mother Nido is from there and that’s where she met her husband, Mary’s Irish father Kevin.

Kira Kira has been draped in green and gold to support the Matildas, with hundreds gathering around TVs outside to watch each game wearing shirts and hats with Fowler’s number 11 printed on.

Her uncle Nabura Geita explained to the Papua New Guinea Post-Courier that his village was mainly into volleyball and cricket.…more

by Loveni S. Enari

After the wonderful scenes of Don Bosco Technical College, resplendent in the pouring rain, wowing, no - absolutely smashing the International Va'a opening ceremony in Apia Harbour yesterday - at 7:30am today, it was business time.

The Under 19 men kicked off the championship and Samoa came in an honourable fourth behind race favourites, Tahiti, Aotearoa and Hawaii, in that order.

The final medal table on 18 August will look similar, with a very tight struggle expected between perrenial champs, Tahiti and the always strong Kiwis, with permission of Hawaii, Australia and the Cook Islands.

The opening ceremony and march past were well supported and provided spectacularly festive images of the beach front road for the rest of the world.…more

August 11th 2023 marks the 50th anniversary of hip hop - an art form that has helped influence so much of pop culture in the USA where it was birthed and around the world even down to tiny island nations & communities in the South Pacific.

Hip hop historians are able to pinpoint the date because a party in the Bronx on August 11th 1973 was when DJ Kool Herc debuted his 'merry go round' technique of playing funk breaks back to back.  The event inspired DJs, breakdancers, graffiti artists, and eventually MCs in the early 80s which is when the culture spread beyond New York.

To honour the legacy and influence of this now global culture, we asked a number of our Pasifika hip hop artists who their all time favourite hip hop artist is or who would be the most influential hip hop artist in their career.

We start with Gawtti from the legendary Boo Yaa T.R.I.B.E (the group of Samoan brothers who are celebrated as the pioneers of Samoan and Polynesian hip hop).…more

In the heart of Manurewa, MJ Fau Fuimaono Latu has captured the hearts of many with his extraordinary journey. Born and raised in South Auckland, MJ attends Finlayson Park School, a decile 1 school that has become the backdrop of his inspiring story.

MJ is the son of Anthony and Teresa Latu, hailing from the village of Samata i Uta, Samoa. Described as ‘very reserved’ by his mother, his early years were spent in homeschooling, but now embraces school work with enthusiasm. 

Through sheer determination and unwavering dedication, MJ triumphed over numerous challenges to secure the prestigious Buchanan Charitable Trust Scholarship for Kings School/College - an accomplishment that holds a value of over $200,000.

MJ's pursuit of this life-changing scholarship began with stiff competition. Numerous applicants vied for the award, but MJ's brilliance and hard work set him apart. He passed the preliminary assessments and testing day, securing a spot in the top 5 finalists; and then went on to be shortlisted among the top 3 finalists for the final interview.…more

MORGAN HOGG

MULTIDISCIPLINARY ARTIST 

COOK ISLANDS

MAUI DANIEL 

REGISTERED NURSE 

COOK ISLANDS 

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Ko Maui Daniel toku ingoa

Ko Takitumu toku vaka taunga

Ko Pa ma Kainuku toku nga ariki

Ko ngati kainuku toku matakeinanga

Ko turangi manga mataiapo toku tapere

Ko te kou toku maunga

Ko te avarau toku ava

Kia Orana from the Cook Islands.

My name is Maui and I am named after my late grandmother Mama Maui Short (nee Cowan). I was born on the island of Penryn, and raised in Rarotonga in the village of Ngatangiia, Muri.  I am the eldest of three, however I have two older siblings before me.

I am the mother of one handsome young man of 20 years old, who is my life and my strength.

My father Dr Roro Daniel was born on the island of Aitutaki that is well known for its beautiful Lagoon. I have family connections to Palmeston and Penryn.

My mother, the late Akaiti Daniel (nee Short) is from Rarotonga with strong ties to Atiu.…more

Earlier this year, a tweet from UFC Fighter Themba Gorimbo caught Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson’s eye.

Gorimbo tweeted a screenshot of having $7 in his bank account, an amount all-too familiar with Johnson, who infamously had $7 in his pocket after getting cut from the Canadian Football League in 1995 and was forced to move home.

Inspired by his story, his selflessness and his determination for greatness, Johnson flew down to Miami to meet Gorimbo in person. While Gorimbo thought that meeting was the surprise of a lifetime, as he would soon find out, a lot more was in store.

In case you have missed much of the ongoing storyline, take a look back at how the Summerslam main event came to be, from when the Usos lost their rematch for the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championships against Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens in the video above.…more